


Super Nova

by BethanyOgilvie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, PTSD, Survivor’s Guilt, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:54:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24075523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BethanyOgilvie/pseuds/BethanyOgilvie
Summary: A mysterious collector hires two groups of pirates to bring a valuable prize to him. Sidon Ithano’s crew of misfits thinks they have this in the bag, but little do they know their rival group has a grey Force User at their disposal. Who will get to the prize first? What is this prize? Is the grey Force User as stable as she seems? Is the collector the ONLY one invested?
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

The slice of toast gently lifted off the plate and drifted over a disheveled bed and into the hand of it’s summoner. 16 year old Sayriel Nova stood in the middle of her small room, the bottom of her left foot pressed tightly against the upper portion of her inner right thigh. She had one hand placed on her hip and the other brought the buttered toast to her mouth and she took a satisfying bite. It was no longer a hot breakfast, but it would do. Practicing meditation moves helped to center herself and keep a sense of calm. The only thing she struggled to do was clear her mind, there were too many thoughts that swirled around. Even now, her Master would’ve strongly disapproved of her eating breakfast during her morning meditation. 

“Master Tarrek!” She exclaimed, opening her eyes to look at the chronometer on the table next to her bed. She had five minutes to make it from her dorm room, to the other side of the temple. Shoving the rest of the toast into her mouth, she searched around for a suitable pair of pants. She found a clean pair and pulled them, running out her door moments later, her lightsaber hint finding its way to her hand just before her door slide shut. She ran down the corridor, turning sharply around corners, dodging other students and Masters (always managing to give the Masters a respectful bow). She slowed her pace to a quick walk and stopped at the end of a long hallway. She took a deep breath, silently exhaling and praying to all the Force Users of the past to slow her heart rate and calm her down. She then casually walked around the corner and spotted her Nautolan Master standing in a training gazebo. Guess training is outside today, Sayriel thought. 

She walked through the lobby, the doors sliding opening with a soft swish as she neared them. There was a rush of cool air and the sound of birds happily chirping their morning songs. Yavin IV was a small moon but it felt so full of life. The rainforests held so many creatures and unique plants, some only revealing their beauty at night with the aid of bioluminescence. She could remember back when she was a young Padawan, she and her classmates being taken out into the jungles on field trips. Two Masters would teach them about the plants and animals and how to feel the Force moving through everything around them. She couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7 at the time. Her Master’s amused voice broke into her memories.  


“You’re late. Again.” He spoke with his back still to her. He was standing at the other end of the gazebo, facing the thick jungle wall in front of them. At the lack of response from his Padawan, Master Tarrek opened his eyes and turned around, the young woman giving him a sheepish smirk.  


“Sorry, Master. I was mediating and lost track of time.” Sayriel said apologetically.  


“Oh really,” Master Tarrek slowly crossed the space toward Sayriel, “so you’re ready to fall back into it then.” Her Master stopped in the center of the gazebo and gestured for Sayriel to join him. With a sigh, the young woman walked forward and stopped a couple feet from her Nautolan Master. Meditation was halfway true, she was calm and had focused on her breathing, but her mind had been anything but quiet. The two Force Users bowed to each other and knelt to the floor in unison, Sayriel shifting into a cross-legged sitting position. Sitting on her knees had never been comfortable for her. She took a deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth, and did her best to begin to quiet her mind. 

_It’s so nice to have such a cool morning, the usual humidity of this place just saps my energy sometimes. I love how happy those little birds sound, chirp chirp chirping away at the morning. I wonder what they’re singing about. Do they know what their singing about? Of course they do, that’s how they talk to each other right? With chirps? Or is it just body language cues, and the songs are really just songs? Kriff, I’m supposed to be clearing my mind. Ok, focus, breathe, clear my mind. Wait, if I’m telling myself to clear my mind, isn’t that thinking? And thinking isn’t clearing, or is it?_  


“Sayr.” Her Master’s voice sounded loud and clear in front of her.  


“Hmm?” Sayriel responded, keeping her eyes closed and her face expressionless.  


“You’re thoughts are so loud.” Her instructor sounded amused. Sayr opened her eyes and saw Master Tarrek smirking. He was such a patient teacher, she really didn’t deserve him.  


“I’m sorry Master. It’s just, it’s hard for me to clear my mind. I’ve been practicing, but it’s not working.” Sayriel wasn’t trying to make an excuse, she had indeed been practicing on her meditation. When she was supposed to focus and listen for cues from the Force, her mind decided it was time to wander.  


“It does take lots of practice young one. Despite what some teachers say, one doesn’t just intuitively know how to meditate. It’s a skill that can take years to hone.” Tarrek must’ve spotted Sayriel’s shoulders droop slightly at that comment, for he added quickly, “I do believe you can do it though.” That earned him a little smile. 

“Now, show me your progress on your sparring techniques. Your exams are coming up soon and if all goes well, you will no longer be my student.” With that, student and teacher stood and ignited their lightsabers; their actions were perfectly synchronized. Sayriel was good at this part, she found sparring to be the best stress relief. Anxiety over her final exams had been gnawing away at her for the last couple weeks. Hopefully everything will go as Master Tarrek said they will.


	2. The Offer

A year after that encounter with Master Tarrek, Sayriel would find herself on a transport leaving the atmosphere of Yavin IV, all of her possessions fit into a backpack. She didn’t have much, so it didn’t take her but minutes to pack.

A grand total of 15 years had passed since that encounter now. A 32 year old Sayriel stood under a stream of hot water, the steam of her shower fogging up the refresher. She had been too tired to shower the night before, so she made a point to get up early and wash up. Dried blood and dirt flowed off her body and swirled down the drain. She had found herself thinking back to that conversation with Master Tarrek. She still had issues with meditation, but it was most likely because she didn’t practice it much anymore. There were some thoughts she didn’t want to confront and areas of her mind that she refused to explore. She briefly wondered if she had made the right decision regarding leaving the sect on Yavin IV. They were pushing you out more and more every day. They wanted you to leave, they were practically showing you to the door. She reminded herself as she turned off the water. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her now clean body. She bent over the sink and twisted excess water out of her long, dark brown hair. 

After finishing her morning routine, Sayriel got dressed and checked her datapad for any messages. She frowned when she noticed one new notification. She didn’t really feel like seeing him today, but he was often associated with credits, which she did feel like accumulating more of. She already had a job she needed to complete today, so his message would need to wait. She dressed in dark grey pants and a white shirt. She paired this with black boots that hugged her mid-calf securely. They had seen better days but they were sturdy and still did their job. The thick soles protected her from broken glass to semi-molten metals. Plus they were fun to kick people with when she needed to. She secured her blaster to the holster on her thigh and her lightsaber was securely hidden in a pocket on her pant leg. After downing some caf for breakfast, and left her small apartment. Corellia was still largely asleep, but some businesses were starting to open up. The sun was just beginning to show itself at the horizon.

She walked in the direction of the landing pads where her ship was parked and hopefully awaiting the shipment of it’s cargo. She passed a few businesses on her way, some still securely locked up and others being set up for the customers that would eventually arrive. She knew a couple of the shop owners, a few of the market vendors, and the guy who ran the shipyard she used, but that was it. She didn’t want to be too known. Besides, she didn’t know how long she’d call Corellia home. Once at the shipyard, she typed in her access code and the gate slide open slowly. She found her ship on pad D4 and sure enough there was a Twi’lek male waiting for her with a stack of crates and a service droid. Sayriel smirked, at least he was on time this morning.  


“Is this my shipment of Burra fish?” She inquired once she was closer in range.  


“Yup, pack with the industrial ice packs as requested.” The Twi’lek responded. “I just need you to sign for them and I’ll have my droid load them onto your ship.” The vendor gestured to her Allanar N3 freighter, _The Revenge_. Sayriel took the datapad he held out for her and inspected the manifest and then opened one of the crates. Sure enough the fillets lay neatly wrapped surrounded by plenty of the industrial-grade ice packs. She checked all 10 crates and was pleased with all of them. She signed for the shipment and the Twi’lek’s droid set to work loading them onto her ship.  


“So where are all these crates going?” The Twi’lek asked, making small talk. Sayriel hated small talk.  
“Somewhere.” She replied with a “that’s all you need to know” smile. The man took the hint and didn’t try to continue the conversation.

Once the crates were securely loaded, Sayriel settled herself into the pilot’s seat and stared her ship up. Within moments she was soaring through the atmosphere of Coreilla and soon after that she was out among the stars. It was her favorite place to be truthfully. After a few calculations, she jumped to hyperspace and settled in for the two hour journey. She decided to try her hand at meditation again, closing her eyes and slowing her breathing. A quick series of beeps jolted her awake, it was time to drop out of hyperspace. She must’ve fallen asleep during her attempted meditation. Honestly that wouldn’t be the first time that has happened. Nar Shaddaa loomed in her viewport and Sayr piloted her way through the atmosphere to Wormstew Town. She had always wondered how that place got its name, but felt that she didn’t want to truly know the answer.  


“This is Nova, I’m in route to Wormstew with your shipment of Burra fillets.” She commed her contact’s frequency. There was a crackle of static and then a reply for her to land on platform C5. She did as instructed and disembarked once she landed. She was met by a human male and a Rodian with a datapad. The Rodian scanned the cargo once it was unloaded and gave a nod to his human counterpart  


“Looks like everything is in order,” the man said, lifting the lids on each crate and inspecting the contents. He pulled out of the ice packs and held it between his hands.

“The hospital will be most pleased with this generous donation from your benefactor. Now if you come with me, I’ll get your delivery fee sorted.” He added, gesturing for Sayr to follow him to a small building near the platforms. The man tossed the industrial-grade ice pack from hand to hand casually. 

Upon entering the small building, which was essentially 4 walls, a ceiling, and a desk, Sayr was greeted by a female Twi’lek. She was dressed in hospital garb, but Sayr could spot the outline of a blaster under her white coat. The man handed the woman the ice pack, who then carefully opened it along one edge. She took a test strip out of her coat pocket and dipped it into the substance that was starting to soften. The test strip emerged blue and the woman smiled.  


“The bacta is still viable. This will help immensely. The Hutts have cornered the market on this stuff and are charging much more than we can ever afford.” The woman explained. Sayr was aware of this and found it disgusting. Bacta was a lifesaving tool and to charge an insane amount of credits for it just because they can was monstrous. This shipment of about 240 total frozen Bacta packs wasn’t a lot but at least they’ll be able to have some at the hospital here and send some to the smaller clinics they were affiliated with. She felt good participating with these causes, as she felt it helped balance out the unpleasant ones that also found their way into her calendar. 

The credit transfer took place and Sayr took her leave of the pair, passing by the crates on their way to the hospital. She noted a male Zabrak leaning against the edge of her ship, she knew who he was. As she got closer she could make out the stupid smile on his stupid face. She had hoped he would’ve waited for her to answer his earlier message, but no. He felt the need to follow her here instead.  


“What do you want Varex?” She asked with a weary tone. The Zabrak pushed himself off the side of her ship and blocked her way on the landing ramp. She stopped and gave him a glare.  


“I just want 15 minutes of your time. I have an offer that I think you’ll be interested in.” Varex said, he sounded excited but that could just be a ploy to get her to agree.  


“And what if I say no?” She countered, trying to side step him. He moved to still block her.  


“Then I’ll follow you until you say yes.” He replied, Sayr knew that was probably what he would do and sighed. She didn’t have any other job lined up right now anyways. She didn’t have to say anything, the look she gave the Zabrak pirate told him she agreed.  


“Great!” He jumped off the edge of the landing ramp and back into the platform. Sayriel made sure her ship was secured tightly and followed the pirate into town. 

She followed him to a cantina fittingly dubbed _The Wormhole_. They walked through the small crowd at the front and settled in a back booth. A waitress came over and gave them both menus and said she’d be back in a bit to take their orders. Sayr folded her arms on the table top in front of her as Varex made himself comfortable in the seat across from her.  


“So, it’s been a couple months.” He noted, Sayriel smirked.  


“Is this a business proposition or a catching up meeting? Because time started when we walked through that door. You have 12 minutes left.” Sayr responded, sitting back and crossing her arms across her chest. She wasn’t interested in talking about the “old days” or what she had “been up to”. The Zabrak raises his hands in mock surrender and was about to get down to business when the waitress returned. Varex ordered the house-made Ale and Sayr got herself a Sparkling Stardust. Their drinks arrived quickly and Sayr took a sip of the sweet glittery drink. Varex shook his head amusedly.  


“What?” Sayriel asked with a raised eyebrow, “a woman like myself can’t enjoy a girly drink?” She added with a teasing smirk.  


“It’s just odd to see a woman like you sipping a glittery drink, I’ve seen you do some very unladylike things.” Varex explained, Sayriel shrugged in acknowledgement. The Zabrak then got down to the reason why he had followed her to Nar Shaddaa.  


“A collector on Coruscant contacted me with a very intriguing job opportunity. He is a purveyor or ancient artifacts and has heard of some items of a Force-like nature hidden in caches on a few different planets.” Varex began. Sayr narrowed her eyes at the term “Force-like”. She had a feeling why Varex had contacted her.  


“What are these items?” She asked, eyes still narrowed at Varex. The Zabrak looked around to make sure no one was paying too much attention.  


“I can’t say here, but I can tell you that they’re very old and very valuable.” Varex said, leaning forward. Sayriel stayed with her back against her booth seat. She wore an unimpressed expression on her face.  


“What are they? Master Yoda’s bedtime slippers?” Sayriel asked sarcastically. Varex gave her a confused look in return.  


“I don’t know who that is…but you can’t wear these I don’t think.” Varex replied, Sayriel rolled her eyes and leaned forward.  


“So are you asking me because you value my company and think I make a wonderful work partner? Or is it because I have some tricks that will make these things _very_ easy for you to find?” Varex didn’t hesitate with this reply.  


“Both, but mainly the second thing.” Sayriel frowned and leaned back in her booth again, Varex quickly adding, “but also the first thing. You are a delight to have on the ship.” 

Sayriel held his gaze for a couple beats more and then turned her attention to her drink. She did appreciate his honesty and she did find his offer interesting. He drank his ale quickly and waited for her to finish her drink, which didn’t take long. Sparkling Stardust was always served in a small, delicate, wide-rimmed glass. But it was worth it. 

“Okay fine, what the kriff. You were right, this sounds interesting.” She answered, Varex smiling in relief. Her joining his crew, even if on a temp basis, would make this mission so much easier. The two left the cantina, Varex paying for Sayriel’s drink on the way out. Varex gave Sayriel the coordinates to the current safe house. They both then parted ways and Sayriel found herself back out in space, surrounded by stars and silence.


	3. So It Begins

The capital city of Valencia on Jelucan was cold. All the time. This whole planet was cold. All the time. Why Varex had decided to move here was beyond her. She walked down the rocky road towards the location of the safe house. She passed a group of Muunyak that were all packed for a trip down the mountain on which Valencia sat. She did have to admit they had cute faces. She stopped and rubbed the face of one of the creatures, warming her hands a bit in the warm woolly fur. The creature snorted and nosed at the pockets of her coat for treats. She lingered a little bit longer and then had to move on. 

She hurried to the safe house which was located in the side of the mountain with numerous other dwellings. The door to the apartments slide open and she entered a rather modest lobby. There was a droid at a desk in the middle of the lobby, his job was to answer any questions residents might have. Sayr didn’t need him, she walked past the droid and to one of the three lifts. When the one became available, she stepped in and pressed the button for the 5th floor. The trip was a long one, at least five minutes total, which made sense. Floors between levels probably had to be thick to support the weight of people living inside a mountain. She exited the lift and found the correct apartment number. She pressed the buzzer on the side of the entry pad and waited. 

Moments later the door slide open and a Rodian greeted her at the door. He stepped aside to allow Sayr to enter the apartment where a Wookiee and a Chiss sat in the main room. Varex was no where to be seen but that didn’t surprise her. Sayr took a seat next to the Wookiee on the long sofa.  


“Darr, how’ve you been.” She asked the immensely tall black-furred Wookiee. Darr responded with a low grumble. Sayr nodded. She looked over at the Chiss who glared at her.  


“Krev, I see you haven’t forgotten our last encounter.” Sayr acknowledged.  


“My knee still hurts from time to time.” The Chiss muttered, tapping a hand on his right knee. Sayr gave him a sympathetic look but didn’t have anything to say. The Rodian, Avi, took a seat next to Krev, both sharing a smaller couch. Krev looked irritated at his personal space being invaded. 

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. That’s the way it tended to happen when you were sitting in a room with at least two beings that you’ve double crossed. At least Darr enjoyed her company, she did get along the best with the Wookiee. The door slid open again and Varex arrived with food.  


“Nova! Glad you could make it!” Varex said cheerfully, it was like he had gathered some old friends together together a reunion. He set the food out on the table, it was an assortment of some local delicacies. Utensils were passed out and the group dug in, Sayr finding herself hungry for food other than freeze dried rations and caf.  


“So what’s this _special assignment_ you’ve come across Varex?” Krev asked, apparently Varex had been lax on the details with everyone else too, which made Sayriel feel better. She didn’t like being the only one left out of the loop. Varex sat back in the armchair he had chosen and finished chewing his food before he spoke.  


“Well, they’re a few ancient artifacts of a…knowledgeable and secretive nature.” Varex said, choosing his words carefully. Krev set his utensils down on the table and got up to leave.  


“No no, okay fine. They’re holocrons.” Varex said hurriedly, Sayriel almost choked on her food, Darr giving her a large thump on the back. Krev stared at Varex for a moment and then sat back down. He certainly didn’t just say what she thought he had. She had to have misheard him.  


“So that’s why you’ve included Nova then?” the Rodian, Avi, asked. Yup, he had said holocrons.  


“Well, yeah, but she’s fun to have around too.” Varex said, giving Sayr a sideways glance. Krev coughed at that statement and Avi just took another bite of food. Darr was the only one who gave a agreeing growl. 

Sayriel couldn’t care less about what the others thought of her. She just glared at Varex, who was trying hard not to meet her gaze.  


“Holocrons?! Are you crazy? What makes you think that’s a legitimate opportunity?!” Sayriel finally said. She knew Varex took risks with this job choices but she didn’t think he was downright stupid about them. Holocrons were a thing of the past. Even she didn’t have access to any during her training in the sect on Yavin IV. She had read about them, but had never seen one before in here life. She had no idea what type of energy they gave off in the Force anyways, how was she supposed to know they were on the right path? She put her utensils on the table and leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her face with her hands.  


“How do we find them?” Krev asked, Avi seemed interested as well.  


“Yes Varex, how do we find them?” Sayr asked a bit more sarcastically. Varex cleared a spot on the table and set down a holopuck. He pressed a button on the side and a list of locations popped up. Sayriel recognized them as planets that all had one thing in common, they each had had a temple on it that was either Jedi or Sith.  


“We use the process of elimination.” Varex said. “Each of these planets had at one time a Jedin or Sith temple. From what I’ve been able to research, holocrons could be found in the temples. The most common one would be the temple on Coruscant. However, that one was converted to Emperor Palpatine’s palace after the Republic fell, so it’s unlikely any holocrons remain there. Next there was one on the ice world Ilum, but that planet was destroyed. This is where Nova comes in, since she’d know more about possible locations.” The group then looked at Sayr who had been trying to focus on her food. She looked up at them and took a moment to swallow what was in her mouth. She looked at the list Varex had compiled, finding herself rather impressed with his research.  


“Well, the one on Yavin IV is gone too, and this one is just a few blocks and statues left.” She said, removing two more from the list. She had been to what little remained of the temple on Yavin IV and it was just a pile of rubble. Apparently Jedi Master Luke Skywalker had torpedoed it into oblivion with his X-Wing. She looked at the list a bit longer, “how many holocrons does this collector of yours want?” She asked finally.  


“Well he said he wanted two of each, I’m assuming he means two Jedi and two Sith.” Varex said with a shrug. Sayr studied the list. She didn’t think just visiting all the Temple ruins was a good idea. Many were unstable and some were guarded by locals who didn’t want people like them poking around.  


“Well, these two here are Sith, and Moraband contains two possible sites we can check. From what I remember from my studies a long time ago, Vader’s castle on Mustafar was built on top of a Sith cave and what was rumored to be a temple site. But that area used to be guarded by a Sith cult, however I’m not sure if they exist anymore.” Nova found herself becoming more and more invested in this the longer she examined the list of possibles. It could be fun to look for something she had only read about in books.

Varex looked pleased as he watched her participating. He had hoped she’d be all for this a little bit more than she seemed, but he knew Sayriel well enough to understand she tried to distance herself with jobs related to the Force.  


“Just to add a little bit more excitement, this guy is willing to pay 200,000 credits for all four holocrons!” Krev, Avi, and Darr all looked particularly happy. Even Sayriel found herself more interested, that was a lot of credits for things this collector couldn’t use. Unless…

“This collector, why does he want these?” She asked, a thought suddenly striking her. Holocrons contain ancient knowledge and secrets and could be dangerous if in the wrong hands, even in this era.  


“He just wants to add them to his collection, which is rather extensive. He took me on a tour of part of it. He has lightsabers from both Jedi Masters and Sith Lords, he has some ancient Jedi armor, pieces of the original Jedi temple on Coruscant. A set of robes supposedly worn by Jedi Master Mace Windu when he was killed by Emperor Palpatine. He even has a whole set of original Clone Wars Era clone armor, the paint job is still intact.” Krev whistled at that notion. Varex went on but Sayr has stopped listening after the mention of Master Windu’s robes. While it was highly unlikely those were real, anyone could buy a brown robe and call it a Jedi robe, the collection seemed a bit morbid to her. She wanted to ask Varex if the collector was a Force User, but there was no way Varex, himself a non Force sensitive, would know.

Within the hour, Sayriel’s ship was locked up tight in the ship yard down in the valley below the mountaintop city. She was sitting in one of the jump seats on Varex’s ship, The Grand Orbiter, next to Darr. She had to admit, she really enjoyed the Wookiee’s company. She wished she worked with him more often, but she was used to being a one-woman show. They had decided to check out the Temple of Eedit on Devaron, figuring that one would be their best bet to try first. The temple was largely in ruin thanks to orbital bombardment back in the day, and it was largely picked through. But there was still a chance something was missed. Holocrons were small after all. 

Little did the pirate crew and their Grey friend know, they weren’t the only ones headed to Devaron.


	4. The Temple of Eedit

Devaron was a jungle planet like Yavin IV. Unlike Yavin IV though, it had small mountains and valleys. It’s climate tended to fall on the tropical side, which meant humidity. Humidity could make things difficult, but not impossible. The temple was located near the town of Tikaroo, deep within the jungles. In its prime, there was a road leading through the jungle and right up to the front door of the temple. However, years of war had seen to the destruction of the road, as well as to the temple itself. She wasn’t even sure if the town was still there, the people may have moved on. Once they cleared the upper atmosphere and got closer to the surface, however, the outline of the small town began to appear. There only one problem. There was no clearing large enough to land except a couple miles away from the town. They’d have to land there and walk to the temple. There was no sign of the temple from the sky, but that didn’t worry Sayr. She figured the ruins had been largely swallowed by the jungle.

Varex set _The Grand Orbiter_ down in the larger clearing, which apparently was still under construction. A couple large cranes were parked along the edge of the jungle, probably used for clearing the large vines that the planet was known for. Humidity washed over them as soon as the door to the ship opened and the crew stepped foot on the surface. There were the typical jungle sounds, birds and bugs, which was a pleasant sign. The planet’s animals had nearly been hunted to extinction in the Empire days.

“Well, lets get moving!” Varex said, leading the way down the trail that lead to Tikaroo. Within no time they were hot and sweaty, but there was something about that that made Sayr come alive. Hard work always made a reward worthwhile.

About thirty minutes later the _Meson Martinet_ landed in the same clearing, the crew of Sidon Ithano walking out to survey the area. Quiggold, the first mate, scowled at _The Grand Orbiter_.

“ _Kriff_ , why is _that_ here?” He muttered, knowing who the ship belonged to just as well as the other members. Varex had become somewhat of a rival to the crew of the Crimson Corsair. Sometimes he beat them to the prize, other times they got there first.

“As long as he doesn’t mess with our objective, we’ll be fine. He isn’t that much of a threat.” Reveth noted, fanning herself with a her hand. “Ugh, it’s hot here today.” She added. Their Captain joined them shortly and the ship was secured. After a moment Quiggold sighed, it was time to walk the mile or so into town. His short legs would make this walk seem much longer, the peg leg wouldn’t help much either, but at least they weren’t trudging through sand this time. Like Varex’s crew, they were all sweating in no time, Quiggold wondering how their Captain wasn’t overheating in his mask and outfit.

The crew trudged into town, needing to find some vendor that sold water, each having consumed a good portion of their canteen on the walk. They stopped at a stall and waited while their canteens were filled when Squeaky nudged Reveth and nodded over at something, she looked then nudged Quiggold’s shoulder.

“I know why Nova never returned your messages.” She said lowly, nodding to vender a few stalls over. Quiggold looked over to where the Twi’lek had indicated and cursed under his breath. Sure enough, Sayriel Nova stood outside a stall selling machetes to cut through the dense jungle. She looked bored and thankfully wasn’t looking in his direction. A short time later Varex emerged from the stall with a new machete in hand.

“Great, looks like Varex did something smart first off for a change. I have a feeling we’re not the only ones our employer hired.” Quiggold noted, sharing a look with their masked Captain. He too had noticed Nova.

“I don’t get it, what’s the big deal?” Their newest member, a former clone medic named Kix, questioned. Quiggold filled him in as they quickly left the vicinity to avoid being spotted by the rival crew.

“Sayriel Nova would’ve been ideal to help find the items our benefactor wants. She has ways to find them. Plus she has some inside information on where they can be found. Turns out Varex got to her first.” The first mate said, the former clone looking back at Nova.

“Don’t look over there!” Quiggold tugged the man around. Kix shrugged, “She looks normal enough to me.” Quiggold snorted in reply to that.

“She’s a Jedi. She can sense them.” He said quietly, jumping a bit as Reveth spoke up,

“You’d better hope she doesn’t hear you call her that. She may skewer you.” The Twi’lek smirked, looking at Kix she added, “Sayr prefers the term “force user” instead of Jedi since she doesn’t identify with only the light side.” Kix tried not to look unconcerned. The very word “Jedi” made him nervous. Memories of the past seemed to trickle in unexpectedly and he wasn’t sure if he could handle a vengeful Force User should she discover his past affiliation. Captain Ithano and his crew soon departed the town, Quiggold not spotting Nova or Varex again as they did so. That could mean one of two things. Either they had just been making a pit stop here and were headed back to their ship. Or they were headed to the temple already. Quiggold hoped it was the former.

The temple wasn’t too far from town, and there were some remnants of the road that had once blazed a trail through the jungle. This made it fairly easy to find, except it didn’t solve their problems with how to get into what was left. The temple had been bombed years ago, blocking the main entrance completely. Plus the jungle had settled itself comfortably over most of the structure.

“Well this will be an issue” Krev said, a very sweaty Darr agreeing with a low grumble.

“Aren’t you glad I tagged along then.” Sayriel said, putting her hands on her hips.

“Do your thing then.” Krev replied, gesturing to the boulders that were once large doors.

“Pfft, I don’t have to move those things. From my studies as a young child-“

“You studied?” Avi interrupted. Sayr shushed him.

“Yes, sometimes. Anyways, this temple had an escape route out the back.” Sayriel continued, leading them around the ruins. The temple sat on a hotspot in the Force, Sayr being able to feel it much stronger here than in the town. Perhaps this place would be good to practice mediating, obviously not right now though.

Once they reached the back, they noted it looked a lot like the front in terms of damage with the exception of one thing, a small opening in the rocks. Climbing over some large chunks of temple, the crew got closer to the opening.

“Looks like it’s too small for you Darr, you can sit this one out buddy.” Sayr mentioned, the Wookiee replied with a nod. Sayriel eased herself into the crevice, followed by Krev and Varex. Avi decided to wait back with Darr and keep an eye out for any unwelcome visitors. Sayriel was fine with that, the less noise inside the temple the better. They didn’t need any cave-ins. The temple was dark with the exception of little rays of light filtering down from openings up top. Once her eyes adjusted, she started forward. She’d have to use the Force to feel for a holocron, as it was unlikely that they’d just stumble upon one. So far she didn’t pick up much of anything outside of the plants and animals in the space around them. She got a sense of urgency as well, but that was probably Varex wanting to hurry up and find out if this place was worth it.

Their footsteps echoed off the rocks and there was a dripping sound somewhere nearby. The longer Sayriel stayed there, the more she felt around her. Feelings of joy, calm, peace, terror, anger, death. They were amplified due to the nexus in the Force that this place was built on. She kept her thoughts to herself, the others were oblivious to the feelings anyways. There was an area up ahead that looked to be lighter than the rest, Sayriel climbing up around some large rocks to the opening higher up. She peered over the edge of a squared off piece of the temple ceiling and saw a little courtyard down below. Granted it hadn’t always been a courtyard, but the opening the in ruins above them combined with rain and sun had caused plants to grow inside, giving it a garden feel. There was something different about this place for sure. It would be a good area to search.

Quiggold emerged from the jungle, followed by Captain Ithano, Reveth, Squeaky, and Kix. There was no sign of Varex, his crew, or Nova. _Perhaps they weren’t coming here_ , Quiggold allowed himself to think hopefully. The entrance to the temple was in shambles, bombed by the Empire long ago. The parts that were still structure-like had vines clinging to it. The building itself was unstable. But finding a way in may not be as impossible as it looked. Quiggold asked Kix for the mini exploration droid from the backpack he carried, Kix handing him a small round droid and a holopuck. A button was pressed and the droid woke up, humming lightly in Quiggold’s palm. He handed it back to Kix, who then tossed it high into the air. The droid was a prototype from a friend of Reveth’s on Tatooine. It was like a seeker droid but smaller and more compact. So far it was useful. The droid flew up over the ruins and scanned the area for a suitable entrance, the image projected by the holopuck. After a couple of moments it spotted one, a decent sized opening in the rubble. It was too dark in side the opening to make out anything, but it was worth a check. Quiggold moves the droid back to group and it and the holopuck were stored back in Kix’s backpack. Quiggold wasn’t sure if he had the ability to climb up onto the boulders, some of the handholds and footholds looked too tall. He took his prayer beads out of a pocket and rubbed them while thinking. Perhaps it was best for him to stay down here and keep an eye out for that Zabrak Varex and his men. But he didn’t want to come all this way and not search the temple, which itself was pretty impressive even in ruins. Squeaky volunteered to keep a lookout, Quiggold reluctantly stating that he’d stay with him. Captain Ithano patted his first mate’s shoulder as he walked passed him silently and began to climb, following by Reveth and Kix.

“Seriously, do you think I can drink this?” Varex asked Sayr who was perched on a boulder on the edge of the impromptu courtyard.

“I don’t know! Usually flowing water is okay, but I’m not an expert in that field. Just drink the water in your canteen.” Sayriel shot back in an irritated tone. Varex slumped his shoulders and did as she suggested.

“I think he was hoping this temple water would give him Force powers.” Krev teased.

“Yeah that’s not how that works.” Sayriel replied, Varex giving both of them a rude hand gesture. Sayriel smirked and poked around the space with the Force. If she were a holocron, where would she be? Here maybe? Somewhere else perhaps? She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the little nooks and crannies in rubble around them. She felt something other than a holocron though, some guests approaching.

“Found something?” Varex asked, noticing a change in her body language.

“Just some unwanted company.” Sayr replied. She quickly jumped off her boulder and ducked into the shadows just as a little scanner droid moved to hover over the opening above them. The other two copied her. She didn’t think the scanner could pick them up, the light quality was too low here, but it was better to be safe than sorry. After a moment the droid flew off and Sayriel could feel a few entities move closer. Clever, they’re going to try to climb the outside, she thought to herself. It was a worthy idea, but maybe not the best one. Rocks on the outside of the temple might give way and send them tumbling to the ground. _That’d be a pity_ , Sayr noted inwardly, a sarcastic tone to her thoughts.

Reveth, Kix, and Ithano finally made it to the edge of the opening in the rock. The chasm looked dark inside, it was difficult to see if there was a bottom. Kix took the scanner droid out of his pack and dropped it in after activating it. Using the holopuck, the image projected from it looked promising.

“Well, there is a floor and a second opening inside the space.”

Sayriel could hear a man’s voice speaking, presumably to others, above them. She peeked around the edge of her boulder and watched as the droid started to scan 360°, ducking back just before the scan reached her. Varex and Krev hid next to her. The droid was called back up to the mouth of the hole in the ceiling.  
Reveth secured a rope to one of the large rocks, giving it a few tugs to make sure it was steady. Once satisfied, she took the rope and lowered herself inside the cave. Once her feet hit the rock floor, she called up to the other two to come down. Once all three were inside the courtyard area, they took a moment to look around.

“Perhaps we should climb up there and see where that goes.” Reveth suggested, looking toward the area where Varex and his crew had entered the cavern.

“Yeah there’s nothing over there.” Varex announced his presence casually. Reveth, Kix, And Ithano quickly turned with weapons drawn to see Krev, Varex and Sayriel standing behind them.


	5. Well Hello There

“Well, looks like we got ourselves a little Trandoshan stand-off.” Varex quipped amusedly.  


“That was stupid.” Sayr felt the need to note, Varex let out a long breath through his nose. The crew of Sidon Ithano had blasters drawn on Varex’s crew, who had their blasters drawn and aiming back. Neither side moved. Sayr reached out with the Force once more, searching for something. Anything. There was a small ping in the Force but it was hard to pinpoint. She accidentally brushed against the consciousness of the man in front of her, who didn’t appreciate that at all.  


“Hey! Cut that out!” Kix warned her, keeping Sayr at blaster point. She raised one hand in an apologetic gesture, and then let loose with a blast of energy, shoving the man, Twi’lek, and Captain off their feet. Krev and Varex then opened fire, their targets taking cover behind large boulders. Ithano and his crew soon returned fire, forcing Varex, Krev, and Sayr to take cover as well.  


“Should we call for Avi and Darr?” Krev asked, ducking a blast that was too close. Varex took a moment to comm Avi, who was with Darr.  


“Avi, Sidon Ithano and some of his crew have us pinned! Check to make sure there aren’t more outside the temple and then come in through the roof!” Varex ordered.  


“Where do I find you?” Came Avi’s reply.  


“Follow the blaster fire!” Krev yelled into Varex’s comm.  


From what Sayr remembered, Sidon Ithano had at least 4 members of his crew unaccounted for, and she didn’t know who the man with Ithano and Reveth was. Fresh meat I guess, she mused silently. He was a good shot though, she had to give him that. The man nearly hit her twice, she was just barely able to deflect his bolts with the Force. 

On the other side of the room, Reveth commed to Quiggold who had heard the blaster fire erupt from where him and Squeaky stood guard. With comm in one hand and prayer beads in the other, the first mate listened as Reveth relayed that they only see three members of Varex crew, but not the other two.  


“Be on the lookout for a Rodian and a Wookiee. We got these three.” She warned, blaster fire could be heard in background.  


“A Wookiee, great.” Quiggold replied, not sure how he and Squeaky were supposed to fight off a Wookiee. However, what the peg-legged first mate lacked in height and speed, he made up with in smarts. If Varex was half as smart as he claimed, he would’ve called his teammates for backup. If they’re out here, they may come right across their path. Quickly he and Squeaky hid amongst the large vines that swirled around the temple, blasters at the ready. They’d catch their rivals by surprise.

Avi and Darr had been leaning against a large vine not far from the crevice their comrades had entered. The jungle had been quiet until the sound of blaster fire erupted from within the ruins. Varex’s voice then sounded over Avi’s comm, followed by Krev’s. The two hurried around the ruins, each taking a side so they could catch Ithano’s crew in the middle. However, Avi and Darr only met up again on the other side.  


“Maybe they’re not here?” Avi questioned, looking around, his blaster held at the ready. Suddenly a blaster bolt flew from the jungle and grazed Avi’s shoulder. The Rodian cursed and both him and Darr ducked behind some boulders. They would need to take care of the crew members in the jungle first before trying to climb up the side of the temple, as that would leave them pretty exposed.  


“We’re taking fire down here! It may be a little bit!” Avi commed back to his boss. The Rodian didn’t know how many pirates were hidden in the jungle, just that the Crimson Corsair usually travelled with at least five other crew members. Varex said some were in the temple ruins, so Avi wasn’t facing five assailants. I’ll just have to assume at least four, he decided going for the highest number possible (even if unlikely) was the best option. 

Varex narrowly missed another bolt, this one sending chunks of rock flying. He couldn’t wait for Avi and Darr much longer, and if his two men were facing four others out there, then they’d need back up.  


“Nova, go help Avi and Darr and bring them back here!” he yelled to Sayr over the blaster fire. The woman nodded, and left cover. Using the Force, she leapt from the ground to the mouth of the opening above.  


“Oh no you don’t.” Kix muttered as he shot a grappling hook at the Force User, the wire twisting around her right leg. He pulled as hard as possible, propping a foot on the boulder he used as cover for leverage. Sayr hadn’t expected the hook, the metal prongs digging into her thick boot sole after swinging around her leg a couple times. The sudden yank ruined her ascent but she was able to grab onto the edge of the opening. Varex immediately fired at the man trying to pull his comrade down. The man was able to duck behind cover, but he still pulled firmly on the line around Sayr’s boot. She tried to pull herself up but the person on the other end was strong. She fought against him, using all the strength she had a bit of the Force, actually pulling the man off the ground briefly. However, the Temple was fragile and the rock gave way under her, sending her falling back to the ground.  


She used the Force to attempt to break her fall, but the floor hadn’t seen this much foot traffic in years, much less a blast of energy. The floor fell away in chunks, a dark chasm opening up between Varex and Krev and Ithano’s crew. Sayr fell right through it, too quickly for Kix to detach the grappling wire from his weapon. Sidon rushed to grab Kix but he wasn’t fast enough and the former clone was yanked forward and dragged right into the abyss with Sayr. 

Sayriel attempted to brace herself with the Force once more, but didn’t use as much energy as previously. She still hit the ground hard enough on her back for her diaphragm to spasm and get the wind knocked out of her. As she gasped for air, she narrowly avoided being landed on by the man who’d hooked her. She caught him with the Force, his face inches from hers, and tossed him to the side. She wasn’t too gentle about it. He landed on the stone floor next to her, but was unharmed. She found it impossible to breath for a moment or two, managing a groaning sound.  


“What is it? Are you okay?” The man was suddenly kneeling at her side, looking surprisingly concern. Sayriel glared at him and shoved him away, and angled her body away from him.  


“What are you, like a doctor?” She wheezed once her breathing had returned, she slowly got to her feet. The man tried to help her, but she once again shoved him off.  


“Well, I was a field medic….before.” Kix replied, his concern startling him. He had almost forgotten what it was like to act like a medic again. He’d patched up his fellow crew members loads of times, but helping a stranger wasn’t the norm anymore.  


“I guess in your past life huh, before you became that.” The woman noted, gesturing at him. He kept his face emotionless when she had mentioned a past life, but it made him anxious inside. He watched as she looked around the empty room, trying to figure out exactly what this area was.  


“Well, have fun finding your own way out of here doc.” Sayriel said to Kix, bending her knees and preparing to leap back up into the fray.  


She suddenly felt that ping again, this time much stronger. She looked suddenly in the direction of the feeling, just over the man’s left shoulder. Kix frowned and looked behind him, he didn’t see anything. But he knew that didn’t mean there was nothing there. He watched the Force User shake her head and prepare to jump again, but her head snapped back to that same location.  


“What is it?” He asked, she shushed him. He doubted her _feeling_ something was impacted by his speech, he glared at her.  


Sayriel walked towards to the location. It was fairly dark here, the light from the hole she’d created only illuminated a small space. But there was an area that looked darker than it’s surroundings. Which usually meant there was an opening. Walking past the former-medic-turned-pirate, she edged closer to the opening. She cautiously felt out with her foot and found a step, testing it carefully. She was about to feel out another step when she felt a nudge from the Force. Her Master would’ve instructed her to _feel_ for the next step. She’d have to trust the Force that it was there and she wasn’t going to drop into a deep dark pit of nothing like part of her mind told her. She took a breath and closed her eyes and felt for the next step, and the ones after that. 

Kix watched as she found a small set of stairs and began to follow them down. He wasn’t nearly as confident in his footwork as she seemed to be, of course she was a Jedi, Force user he reminded himself. Keeping one hand on the wall, he followed her down the steps, his eyes slowly adjusting to the tiny bit of light available once he reached a small room where she stood. The room had tiny slivers of light falling through the ceiling where cracks had formed.  


“What is this place? A secret room?” He wondered aloud.  


“Not necessarily. All temples had a place to store ancient items when they weren’t in use. You didn’t keep an ancient text or a holocron on your desk.” Sayr replied quietly. Her tone implied that he should know this information.  


“Yeah, okay then.” Kix shrugged, he really didn’t know what Jedi did. He could hear blaster fire going on still up top, the smoke from the bolts starting to filter down here through the tiny openings above them. He needed to get back to his group, but something had caught this woman’s attention.  


Sayriel stood for a moment in the space, her eyes closed despite having an essential enemy behind her. She currently didn’t feel much of a threat-like nature emanating from him, but that could change. She kept one hand on her holstered blaster, just in case. Suddenly she felt it again, in the wall, a whispering in the Force. With a wave of her hand, the rocks blocking the area the Force had indicated fell away, and there it was. The small cube, just barely glowing still after all these years. The vergence this place sits on probably has something to do with it, Sayriel thought to herself. She knelt down and gently picked the cube up, it felt lighter than she thought it would.  


“What is it?” The man behind her said, trying to peer around her. Sayriel turned around and tossed the cube up once in her hand.  


“Jackpot Doc.” She smirked.

Just then an explosion sounded from somewhere outside the temple, there was absolute silence from everyone. No speaking, no blasters, nothing.  


“What the hell was that?!” Varex’s voice sounded over Sayr’s comm.  


“I tossed a detonator at the pirates hidden in jungle, but it hit a vine and bounced back.” Avi’s voice came over. As if on cue, the ground and ruins around them started to shake. Bits of rock and dust fell down around Sayr and Kix.  


“I’m going to kill that Rodian.” Sayriel muttered.  


“Well, I’ll take _this_ so you can go do _that_.” Kix replied smartly, snatching the holocron from Sayr’s hand and sprinted back up the stairs. Sayriel gave chase, tackling Kix at the top of the stairs. The man was stronger than she gave him credit for and fast. He put a boot on her stomach and, grabbing her wrists, flipped her up and over him. Sayr righted herself quickly and was about to strike at him again when a large rock fell from the surface and landed between them, shattering into smaller pieces on impact. They didn’t have time to fight. Moving quickly she grabbed his upper arm tightly, the man punching her square on the cheek using his free hand. Sayriel took the hit and, using the Force, tossed Kix back up to the level from which they’d fallen. The man gave a startled yell, which gave her some happiness.  


“He has the holocron! He can’t get away!” Sayriel commed to Varex, who immediately opened fire on Kix. Reveth returned fire as Ithano pulled his crew member to safety. Sayriel herself then leaped to the next level, teetering on the edge until Krev could grab her shirt and yank her forward. Reveth had already begun to climb the rope they’d lowered earlier to the surface. She pushed Varex’s blaster down.  


“We don’t have time anymore, this place is collapsing! We have to move!” Sayriel yelled, grabbing Varex and Force throwing the Zabrak up to the opening in the ceiling. Next she threw Krev out, much to his displeasure, and leapt out herself.

Once out of the ruins, she dodged a blaster bolt from Reveth who was shooting at Varex. Sayriel took ahold of Varex’s shirt and pulled him off the ruins. They didn’t have time to fight right now, that will change once they reach solid ground. She helped Krev away from the crumbling Temple, using the Force to pull him towards her and Varex.  


“Stop doing that!” The Chiss exclaimed, shaking his arms and legs as if to rid himself of something unpleasant. Once away from the ruins, Sayriel turned around just in time to see Captain Ithano emerge from the opening. The famed pirate easily leapt down the side of the shifting boulders and landed safely. Kix and Reveth had taken off down the trail back to town, the former clone giving Sayriel a mocking wave as he did so. Glaring at him, she took off and gave chase.

Reveth shoved Kix in front of her, she’d cover him since he had the holocron in his backpack. She fired at Sayr who easily dodged the bolts. Soon they entered the town again, Kix and Reveth dodging crowds and vender stalls. People screamed and hurried out of the way, unsure of what was going on. Part of Kix felt bad when he accidentally bumped into people and they fell, he couldn’t risk stopping to help them up. Reveth just continued to push him forward. They needed to get to the ship. He looked back to see his comrade shove a vender cart in Sayriel’s path, the Force User gracefully leaping over it and continuing her pursuit without missing a beat. He had forgotten how agile those people could be. Soon they were back in the jungle, Kix could feel his face covered in sweat and his legs were starting to hurt. He had worked out fairly regularly since he was found, but he still had a little ways to go until he was back to prime condition. There was a roar and both he and Reveth turned to spot a Wookiee barreling after them behind Sayriel.  


“Damn, I forgot she was friends with him.” Reveth said breathlessly as she caught up to Kix. If the Wookiee was close behind them, then the others couldn’t be far away. Reveth hoped her comrades could hold the others off. They rounded a corner and sprinted as fast as possible to put some distance between them and their pursuers. Soon they busted out of the jungles and found themselves back in the clearing. There was only one problem, they had to wait for the rest of the crew. They turned just in time to see Darr enter the clearing behind them, he was sweaty and panting. Darr made a b-line for Kix, who readied his blaster to fire. However just before the Wookiee made it to him, the creature fell down heavily and was being dragged back. Kix looked and spotted Reveth at the controls of one of the large construction cranes, she’d used it’s claw to snag the Wookiee’s leg and hauled the creature up into the air. She locked the controls and left him there. 

That’s when Sayr ran into the clearing. Despite her clothing being soaked with sweat, she kept running full speed, her eyes were locked on Kix. He hadn’t fought a Force User in decades, and then he had multiple brothers backing him up, not just one other comrade. Not that Reveth was useless, far from it actually. It’s just that they may need more back up soon. Using the Force, Sayr shoved Reveth aside, the Twi’lek shooting at her as she tumbled. Sayr dodged those with an easy flip and ducked the ones from Kix’s blaster. Sayr grabbed the man’s blaster and yanked it out of his hands, tossing it aside. He grabbed her wrists and head-butted her in return. Both were visibly dazed by that, Sayr staggering back and blinking. Kix shook his head and blink a few times as well, but held his ground. He hadn’t head-butted anyone without a helmet on in a very long time. Taking advantage of the situation, Kix launched himself into Sayr, who recovered quickly.  


“No you don’t.” She mimicked his action from earlier, propelling him up and over her with her foot on his abdomen. The holocron fell out of the backpack and landed between them. The whine of a speeder engine could be heard in the distance. Sayr started to pull the cube into her hand with the Force, Kix scrambling up to intercept it, when suddenly a cord shot out and wrapped around Sayriel’s wrists. She stared at the cord for moment like she didn’t know what it was, her gaze following it to it’s source. Quiggold and Squeaky had arrived on a speeder bike they’d commandeered from the town, they had fired the speeder’s small tow cable at Sayriel. Quiggold then gunned the speeder engines, yanking Sayriel away from Kix and the cube, dragging her across the ground. Captain Ithano appeared from the jungle, followed closely by Varex, Krev, and Avi. Varex fired at Ithano but Reveth covered him as he headed to the ship. They needed to start it up and get out of here. Sayr used the Force to pull on Quiggold’s speeder and was able to get her footing, the first mate fighting back by pushing the speeder forward. Sayr’s boots slid a bit on the ground, but she kept her balance and pulled back with her strength and the Force, focusing on the speeder’s engines. If she could get them to overheat, they’d explode. Kix watched the tug-of-war unfold, grabbing the cube from the ground and securing it back in his backpack. He had almost forgotten what Force Users were capable of. The engines of speeder sparked and little pops started to sound off from the innards of the machine.  


“Cut her loose Squeaky!” Quiggold yelled over the screaming speeder engines. The Gamorrean swung a small axe from his belt and severed the cord. The sudden slack on the cord almost knocked Sayr off her feet, but she held the speeder.  


Kix needed a way to distract her before she blew up his comrades. Tossing the backpack to Reveth, he ran to the crane that still held up the Wookiee, who struggled against the metal claw enclosed around his leg. Jumping into the operating chair, he unlocked the controls and swung the crane around. The Wookiee was now positioned directly above the woman called Nova. Darr called down to Sayr who glanced up and then over to Kix, who released the Wookiee from the crane. It worked. Sayr released the speeder just in time to catch the Wookiee before he landed on her. Quiggold and Squeaky sped towards the now running ship, jumping off the speeder and running up the ramp. Kix followed closely behind. 

As the ship took off, the former clone turned and looked at the Force User, who was still holding the Wookiee up. She looked furious. He smirked and gave her a mocking salute as the ramp retracted and the door closed. Sayriel watched the ship fly away, and the holocron with it. She was exhausted, it had been a while since she’d used the Force to that extent. She gently set Darr on the ground and sat down herself, placing her head between her knees.  


“Don’t look so glum.” Varex said, seemingly too cheerful about the fact they lost one of the holocrons. He seemed to read the look on her face easily, pulling out his datapad in response. Sayriel took it and looked at the screen, a small dot beeped with a set of coordinates near it.

“A tracker. You put a tracker on the ship.” She said wearily, Varex nodded and pulled his friend to her feet.  


“Since we know where they’re going, we’ll have a bit of an advantage. We can search other possible locations and then retrieve the holocrons they find.” Krev said. The possibility of some sweet revenge made Sayr feel better.


	6. Tython

Sayriel sat in the jump seat behind the co-pilot’s chair. She stared up at the ceiling of the cockpit, the others were looking at the list of possible locations. She was bummed out about losing the holocron. She’d been careless. She should’ve killed the man who’d snatched it away from her. That would’ve been wrong though, her rational mind said. Why, why would it have been so wrong? She argued back. Because that’s not you. The reply came rather obviously, Sayriel still pouted.  


“What was that one again?” She asked, catching part of a conversation her teammates were having.  


“Tython, that was another option you chose. It’s deep core, and what are the odds we’ll run into Ithano’s crew again anyways.” Krev said, sitting back in the co-pilots chair, lacing his fingers behind his head.  


“There was something I remember about Tython. Something to do with the ice caps.” Sayr mused. She then voiced something she’d been coming back to.  
“Who was that new guy on Ithano’s crew?” She asked, twirling in her chair.  


“Pardon?” Krev asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“The new guy, the human. The last time I saw Ithano’s crew there were two other guys with him. An Arcona and an Ishi Tib.” Sayriel clarified, turning her seat slowly 360°. Varex shrugged as he entered the coordinates for Tython.  


“I don’t know. Maybe they quit and they hired him to replace them?” Varex suggested. That answer didn’t feel good enough to Sayr, but she dropped it since it was the best answer any of them had.  


“Why do you care anyway?” Krev asked, stopping her from rotating her chair with his boot. Sayr kicked his foot away and spun her chair quickly just to irritate him.  


“I was just curious. He was a good shot and strong, but he had a weird vibe about him.” Sayr shrugged.  


“You and your vibes.” Varex said with a small laugh.  


“Not my fault, can’t help it.” Sayriel replied. “Besides, that’s why you hired me!” She added. Varex nodded at that. They made the jump to hyperspace and were soon on the way to Tython. 

Kix rotated his chair as the crew plotted out their next move. They weren’t too sure where to go from here. Eedit had been just pure luck because Kix had remembered something about a temple maybe being there in the Clone War era.  


“So what’s Nova’s deal?” He asked. He hadn’t really expected her to look like she did or behave like she did. He had his memories from the old days of Jedi and Sith and she didn’t fit into either one really. This  
Is why she doesn’t prefer those terms. He reminded himself.  


“What do you mean?” Reveth asked, she’d dismantled her weapon and was cleaning the various pieces. Kix watched her work, still knowing how to field strip a blaster and reassemble it in seconds flat. Muscle memory was wild.  


“I mean, she doesn’t look like the Jedi, er Force Users, I remember. She doesn’t dress like them or talk like them, and none certainly had tattoos that I remember seeing.” Kix explained, rotating his chair a complete 360°. Reveth propped her foot out and stalled his rotation with a smirk.  


“Well, she’s not like the ones you remember because those people are long gone buddy. She was trained by a different group too, one that doesn’t specifically adhere to just the Light side.” Reveth explained. The first part of her sentence had an effect on Kix that she didn’t fail to notice. It was fast, but the hurt was there. She knew it had to be hard to be reminded that those he knew as friends and brothers were gone.  


“How do you know she has tattoos Kix?” Quiggold asked, turning around in his chair.  


“I saw them when she flipped me over, her sleeve dropped enough.” Kix explained causally.  


“Good attention to details. Thanks for that back there by the way, dropping the Wookiee on her was quick thinking. If you hadn’t, she’d have blown Squeaky and I to bits.” Quiggold said, he stood and patted Kix on the shoulder as he walked back to the cockpit. He needed to ask the Captain about their next target.  


“Eh, she’ll probably get me back for that if we see her again.” Kix called after him, Reveth nodding in agreement. She pieced her blaster back together and followed Quiggold to the front of the ship. Kix sat by himself and stared at the holocron on the galley table. He allowed the days events to replay in his mind, he often did this to think back on what he could’ve done better. He had felt her poke at his conscious with the Force. All clones that worked directly with Jedi had been exposed at some point to the Force and how it felt to have your mind touched by it. The officers received special training to know when a Jedi or Sith was trying to use those mind tricks on them. Resisting those tricks was essential to clones who were going to be more prone to encountering them. Kix has received such training, since he worked frequently with General Skywalker.  


He picked the holocron up and turned it in his hands. It did have some weight to it, and the designs on it were mesmerizing. He had heard talk of holocrons and had even heard of an event where one was stolen from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He didn’t remember exactly what became of that event, since he hadn’t been too privy to such things. Honestly he had had other things to focus on back then. Now? Now he didn’t have much to keep his mind busy besides working out and testing his skills. He sighed and got up, he tossed the holocron up in the air and caught it as he walked to join the rest of his teammates. 

The brushing of his conscious had been an accident, but what she did get a peek of intrigued her the more she thought about it. She was laying on a small bunk down below in _The Grand Orbiter_ , she was supposed to be napping. She needed to recharged after the craziness on Eedit. But she just kept thinking about Ithano’s new recruit. He hadn’t been happy with her accidentally feeling his mind.  
_Most people would be unhappy with that, she thought_. She could understand that.  
_But, he had recognized it quickly_ , her mind wandered. Of course that could mean he’s encountered a force user before. That didn’t seem too strange.  
She had noticed something else during that moment. She had felt anxiety from him, like he was worried about her noticing something.  


You’re overthinking this. No one wants someone probing their innermost thoughts with their freaky mind powers. She told herself. She turned onto her left side, and then onto her right. Finally she tried sleeping on her stomach. She closed her eyes and tried to shush her thoughts. It took a while, but it worked and she drifted off to sleep.

“Hey, wake up. It’s time to plan.” Krev nudged Sayr awake. She opened her eyes to find that she hadn’t moved from her original sleeping position. I guess I was more tired than I realized, she thought. She sat up and yawned. Krev impatiently waved his arms at the door and she trudged after him back to the cockpit where Varex, Avi, and Darr waited. She was still angry at the Rodian for the explosion at the Temple, but Varex was the one in charge of dismissing crew members. Granted she hadn’t voiced her irritation, so maybe Varex thought she was fine with saving nearly killing them all.  


“Okay, so the plan is Tython. Specifically the region in the north, the Meridonial Ice Cap.”  


“Ugh, why?” Krev asked. Sayriel had to agree, going from one extreme to the other didn’t sound fun. First they were sweating to death, now they’ll be freezing to death. Wonderful.  


“Because there is apparently something special there, the _Martyrium of Frozen Tears_.” Varex explained, Sayriel perked up at that phrase. She’d heard it mentioned once in her sturdies with her old Master. He never went into detail about it then, just saying that she’d be told when she was ready. Of course that day didn’t come.  


“You’re thinning there could be a holocron there?” Avi asked, his voice making Sayriel want to punch him in the face for nearly blowing them up. She resisted, grinding her teeth instead.  


“It’s possible, it’s a sacred place.” Varex reasoned. He wasn’t wrong and they had yet to actually get and keep a holocron. So they really couldn’t afford to dismiss this based on a “maybe”. She felt more anxious going to Tython than she had felt about Eedit. It was almost like she wasn’t allowed there. She knew that wasn’t true, as there was no reason she’d be banned from Tython.  


“Well please tell me we’ll be stopping for climate appropriate clothing?” Krev asked, Varex nodded and explained there was a small town in the terrestrial area of the planet that they could stop at to get supplies before flying up to the ice caps. Krev leaned back in his chair, muttering something about how this place had better have a holocron.

An hour later Varex was landing _The Grand Orbiter_ outside a town. The town was small but it had potential. They sought out a vendor that sold the gear they would need, each getting a pair of snow boots, heavy coats, and thick pants. Sayriel grabbed a couple handfuls of pocket warmers as well to put in the inner pockets of their coats.  


”Do you think we’ll need ice picks?” Varex asked, he and Krev looking at a display of different picks.  


  


“Maybe?” Sayriel asked, paying for her items. Varex and Krev decides that meant yes and each purchased an ice pick. Sayriel then helped Darr find a coat in his size. Even though he had fur, he still needed something to hold in his body heat to help defend against windchill. They were soon all bundled up and flying north to the Meridonial Ice Cap. They flew over the snow capped mountains, the shadow of The Grand Orbiter stood out brightly against the white snow. They had to be careful, they didn’t want the sound of the ship’s engines to start an avalanche. Sayriel reached out in the Force and tried to sense if they were near anything significant.  


“Stop! We’re close by something.” She said suddenly, the crew holding on to whatever they could as Varex landed sharply.  


“A little more warning next time please.” Avi said irritatedly.  


“You know, how about I give you-“ Sayriel started, but Varex interrupted her quickly.  


“Ok, everyone out.” He said, ushering them off the ship and out into the frozen mountain.

The wind was blowing fairly strongly but it wasn’t too bad. It made Sayriel glad she had purchased pocket warmers for the inside of her coat. She pulled the hood up around her face to block the wind and looked around. She felt the sensation the strongest ahead of her. She started to walk up the mountain a bit more, the others following. She focused on a tall rock in front of her, which became more clear as she neared it. It wasn’t a rock at all, but a statue carved out of the mountain of a Jedi sitting in a meditative pose. They were here.  


“This is it.” She called back to her comrades who were following in the snow path she had made. She walked passed the statue, looking at it’s face as she did so. The anxious feeling she had fluttered, but she pushed it down. She looked around for an entrance, not really being sure what this one would look like. She hoped it still had an entrance and it wasn’t frozen shut. The crew split up to look around, Darr and Sayriel looking and Varex with Krev and Avi. Sayriel was pretty sure Varex was worried she’d shove Avi off a cliff for the Eedit incident, which Sayriel admitted would be a likely thing.  


“I found something.” Krev’s voice came over the comm, Sayriel and Darr joined the others at a small opening in the mountain face. It looked like a cave, but it looked like it went back pretty far. She took lead, feeling around with the Force to see if Krev was right. She felt a pretty strong pull, nodding to the others. Carefully the crew entered the cave.  


Sayriel push her hood back, the cave walls blocked any wind thankfully. It was pretty dark in the tunnel, Varex turned on a lantern and handed it to her. The light helped some, at least she was more confident to move forward. They came to a large room where the tunnel branched off into three directions. Of course, leave it to the Jedi to make things easy, Sayriel thought sarcastically. She closed her eyes and focused, blocking out the distant dripping sounds and the breathing of her comrades.  


“This way.” She said confidently, taking the tunnel to the left. The group followed her, their footsteps echoing off the walls. The closer she got to the source the Force indicated, the more she felt like she shouldn’t be there. Maybe she was just anxious about something. But what? Not finding a holocron. She pushed the feelings down and ignored them. The tunnel continued on deeper into the mountain, a faint light seemed to be just ahead of them. Maybe this was just an alternate way out of the mountain? But she didn’t feel any moving air and the temperature stayed consistent. She grew confident that there was something at the end of the tunnel when the light gradually got brighter. The tunnel opened up to a place she had never seen before.  


It was a large cavern carved out of the mountain, in the middle stood a Martyrium, it’s arches were formed by stone coming down from the ceiling like large stalactites. The others moved out from behind her to get a look at the structure, Varex taking the lantern from her. Sayr stayed rooted in place, this was the feeing of anxiety she had been getting. She watched as Varex shined the light from the lantern close to the stone, he frowned and scratched at it with a fingernail.  


“Sayr, come look at this.” He didn’t look up but beckoned her over. She didn’t move. She couldn’t move.  


“Sayr, you really need to see this.” Varex looked at her this time, a serious expression on his face. Sayriel found the ability to move her feet and walked to his side, she kept her eyes averted from the Martyrium’s inner space.  


“What?” She asked, looking at the spot he had been inspecting. Varex took her hand and put it against the stone, Sayriel’s eyes widened as she got flashes from the past through the Force.  


_The Martyrium of Frozen Tears is an ancient sacred site, the location has been lost to history but one day it might reveal itself again.  
_

Her master’s voice sounded so loud in her head that she was surprised the others didn’t hear it. She pulled her hand away and stepped back a couple paces.  


“Solid kyberite,not stone.” Sayriel noted. She looked up at the structure, the light emanating from it came from within the large sections above them. Varex looked up as well.  


“Maybe it’s mixed with some sort of bioluminescent mineral?” He voiced, Sayriel gave an uncertain shrug. That was likely, but it was more plausible that it was created by the Force.  


“Well I don’t see a holocron in here.” Krev voiced, Avi agreeing. Darr kept quiet, not wanting to cause a cave-in.  


“Yeah? Did you see what the last one looked like? Huh?” Sayriel snapped back.  


“That’s enough, we’ll find something here I’m sure.” Varex said, soothing tensions between the three. 

Sayriel knew what she had to do, the Martyrium had made it clear when she touched the kyberite. She took off her jacket and handed it to Varex, who wore a confused expression. Sayriel then, with a pounding heart, stepped into the space created by the crystal arches. It felt warmer in there than in the cavern. She needed to calm her nerves or this would never work. What was it her master suggested? Counting her breaths?  


“What is she doing?” Avi asked and was immediately shushed by Varex and Krev. Sayriel sat down cross-legged and placed her hands in her lap. She had her back to her comrades, for some reason that helped with the feeling of them staring at her. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and counted how long it took her to inhale. She then exhaled slowly, counting then as well. She repeated this and allowed the Force to manifest inside her. She felt out around her, feeling her comrades, and the stretched it farther. She felt herself falling deeper into a trance, she had improved a bit since her younger years.  
She heard some voices, but they didn’t sound like they belonged to her comrades. It frightened her, but she didn’t back away. 

Varex watched his friends shoulders relax and saw that her breathing had deepened. Yup, she was meditating. Hopefully she’d be able to find the holocron. He knew she had trouble staying in a meditative state, so he’d need to make sure the others remained quiet and patient. Varex sat down and motioned for the others to do the same.  


“It might be a while.” He whispered to them, Krev nodding and Avi rolling his eyes. The Rodian was fairly new to the crew and had only worked with Sayriel one other time before. Varex had known Sayriel the longest and had introduced her to Krev a couple years ago. Darr had been a long time member of the crew as well, Sayriel being the one to introduce Varex to him. The Zabrak sighed and tried to relax, leaning against one of the kyberite pillars. Sayriel hadn’t reacted well to touching them earlier, which made him wonder if she had seen something. Varex sighed and rubbed his tan face tiredly. 

The voices Sayriel heard became clearer, she screwed her eyes shut against them. They were starting to become distracting. Soon another sound joined in, birds? Sayriel wondered. There were no birds in here. The bird calls were oddly familiar though, her heart rate sped up. She opened her eyes and found herself standing by the railing of a training gazebo on Yavin IV. The voices she had heard where those of Master Tarrek and herself, a younger version of herself. Sayriel stayed still, even though she knew this was just a memory. Neither her Master nor herself could see or hear her. 

“Today’s lesson is simple. What is a Martyrium?” Master Tarrek asked, sitting in front of Sayriel. Sayriel watched her younger self think through the phrase.  


“Well, a martyr is someone who is killed for their beliefs, usually religious beliefs.” Master Tarrek nodded but continued to remain silent to allow Sayr to think out loud.  


“And Martyrium sounds like mausoleum, which is where someone is buried…so a Martyrium is where a martyr is buried?” Sayriel worked out, looking up at Master Tarrek for confirmation. Sayriel looked at her younger self, she had to be about 12 here. So small. She felt sad in a way, since in 4 short years things would change drastically for this young Sayriel. The innocence in her eyes would be ripped away.  


“Correct, such places are sacred to those who identify with the martyr’s sacrifice.” Master Tarrek explained, Sayriel looked confused.  


“Wait, Jedi are burned upon their death though. So, they wouldn’t be placed in a Martyrium.” Master Tarrek smiled at his student.  


“Correct again. In some cases, Martyriums held caches in the space in the center. These were usually hidden securely and could only be accessed using the Force.” Master Tarrek explained. 

Sayriel’s eyes snapped open back in the real world, taking a deep gasp of air. She had slowed her breathing down pretty far for that vision. Varex was suddenly at her side.  


“What is it?” He asked in a concerned tone, he had been watching her and counting the number of breaths she had been taking.  


“I’m sitting on it!” Sayriel said in a whisper.  


“What?” Varex asked again, kneeling down next to her.  


“I’m sitting on it!!” Sayriel said excitedly, the others rousing from their spots on the floor.  


“Move, move.” Sayriel instructed, gently pushing Varex back. She took another breath and closed her eyes. She felt around with the Force below her, when she suddenly felt a pull. She smirked and slowly raised her hands, a large block of stone raising out of the floor. It had been cut so cleanly that it was barely noticeable when it was set in place. She went carefully since the object was heavy and gently placed the stone to the side. The resulting square hole in the floor was about 1 ½ feet on each side. Inside the space there was a small stone box, Varex knelt down and opened it carefully. He laughed and pulled out a dodecahedral shaped holocron. Whispers of excitement spread out amongst those gathered, Varex gently placed the object in Sayriel’s hand. As soon as it made contact with her skin, a light glowed softly from the inside. It wasn’t too bright, but who knows how long the holocron had been there. Sayriel placed the holocron carefully into an inside pocket in her coat, which she then pulled back on. She replaced the stone into the floor and took a breath. She was tired, but happy. 

“How did you know that was there?” Krev asked as they walked back out of the tunnel.  


“It was just a memory from a lesson, something about caches being in place of bodies since Jedi were burned when they died.” Sayriel said, giving a shrug. She didn’t want to go into too much detail. Lingering emotions from that vision were still very close to the surface.  


“I just want to say, my hearts are still pounding!” Varex said with a laugh, placing his hands over the space where his two hearts were located. The wintery chill hit them like a blast when they stepped out of the cave entrance. They boarded the ship and Varex primed it for take off, letting the engines warm up for a few moments first.  


“So, where to next?” Krev asked, he was in a distinctly better mood now that they had a holocron, which he was currently inspecting.  


“Give me the list!” Sayriel said, her spirits had been lifted as well. She looked through the list with Darr and Avi, she was trying to forgive the Rodian for his mistake on Eedit. She knew her Master would’ve preferred that instead of what she wanted to do to him.


	7. Check-ins and Propositions

Sayriel ate her breakfast of rehydrated eggs and jerky as she watched Varex talk to their employer on his comm. He had to check in after they secured their first holocron, and chances are Sidon’s crew had done the same. Speaking of that other crew, she slid Varex’s datapad towards her and queued up the position of the Crimson Corsair’s crew. _Still on Tatooine huh?_ she thought to herself. Why did they decide to go there? She sighed and shook her head, sliding the pad back next to Varex. The thought of Ithano’s crew brought up the memory of that guy dropping Darr on her. She planned to get her revenge on him when she saw him again. Hopefully Varex was considering stealing back the holocron they had. 

She couldn’t hear what the employer was saying, she could only guess based on Varex’s response. Her longtime friend didn’t have a very expressive face when he used his comm. But she took this time to really look at Varex. His horns had gotten longer, they formed a crown around the top of his cranium. She liked them longer. His face was still the same, he looked younger than he was, his blue eyes contrasted with his tanned skin wonderfully. Her mind briefly flitted to the time when their relationship was more than friendship. That was a long, long time ago. 

Her reminiscing was broken when Krev nudged her to pass some hot sauce. She did so, she couldn’t blame him. It was the only way to make the food taste like something. Varex sighed and took out his earpiece and placed it with the comm on the table. The galley on _The Grand Orbiter_ was small but it wasn’t too cramped. It was designed well enough so that the five of them had space to breath and sit comfortably, but elbows did bump and legs kicked each other on accident (or not). Varex finally ate his food, but he looked distracted.  


“What is it?” Sayriel asked, trying not to pry with the Force. She had too much respect for Varex to do that to him. He had earned his right to secrecy. Varex didn’t reply right away and finished his food first. He pushed his plate away after and sat back in his chair.  


“Our employer wants to have a meeting.” Varex said, Sayr shrugged. That didn’t seem like something horrible.  


“Okay.” She replied. Varex looked at her.  


“With all of us.” He clarified. Sayriel choked on her so-called eggs, Varex patting her on the back as she coughed. She didn’t want to meet that man and by the looks on Avi’s and Krev’s faces, they didn’t either. Darr made an unhappy growl.  


“I agree with Darr.” Sayriel said, clearing her throat. But she knew Varex didn’t have a choice.  


“Come on, this would be a good chance for you to scope him out. Remember you said you were wondering if he was Force Sensitive?” Varex reasoned, Sayriel made a face. She had wondered that.  


“Well, when does he want to do this?” She asked, poking moodily at her eggs. An anxious feeling was building in her stomach. Suddenly her food looked even less appetizing.  


“Soon, we’re actually going to head to Eufornis Major now.” Varex said, quickly getting up and heading to the cockpit before Sayriel could change her mind.  


“Of _course_ he is in Eufornis Major!” Sayriel shouted after him. 

Quiggold didn’t look excited when he returned to the cockpit.  


“So, what did he want?” Reveth asked. Kix looking up from his weapons holozine. Quiggold has received a call from their benefactor and had left to take it.  


“He wants us to check in.” Quiggold said with a sigh. It was unusual for an employer to want a meeting this early into the job. They had only one holocron in their possession. They had tried Tatooine, but that didn’t turn out well. They had only just gotten into hyperspace, wanting to put as much distance between that sandy hellhole and themselves as possible. He knew he wasn’t going to sleep well for a while after that one.  


“Why?” Reveth asked, voicing what everyone was silently asking. Quiggold shrugged, he didn’t like it anymore than she did. The Captain sighed in such a way that Quiggold was sure he wasn’t pleased with the request. They had already stepped out of their comfort zone by taking a job like this. Usually they followed their own lead and their own goals. They had taken a break from raiding Separatist caches to take on this job, and it was mainly for the reward money.  


“He wants confirmation we have a holocron. The guy is pretty anxious.” Quiggold explained with a a shrug. Reveth made a face that expressed she wasn’t happy with that. Quiggold left her, Kix and Squeaky to go discuss the change of plans with Captain Ithano. He had a feeling his Captain wasn’t going to be excited about this either.  


“Captain, our benefactor wants a meeting with you. I would volunteer to just go on my own with an image of the holocron, but I don’t think that would suffice.” Quiggold said as he entered the cockpit, Sidon Ithano didn’t say much. He was a man of few words. Quiggold had learned long ago to go by body language cues to determine what direction to take. Sidon looked over his shoulder at his first mate, his usually expressionless helmet seemed to bear a “are you serious” expression on it. Quiggold shrugged,  


“I don’t think he trusts our word, which I can’t say I blame him. Pirates don’t always hold a reputation for honesty.” Quiggold explained, sitting down in the chair next to Captain Ithano.  


“When does he want to do this?” came the reply.  


“As soon as possible.” Quiggold said. 

Eufornis Major, sometimes just called Eufornis, was an ecumenopolis like Coruscant. A rather prestigious city planet, like if all of the wealthy on Coruscant became ten times richer and all relocated to their own planet. Sayriel hated it. It was just a representation of greed. Now, she knew some people couldn’t help the wealth they were born in to. Some even tried to do good with the amount of credits they had. She had nothing against those people. It was the ones who seemed to just want more and more whether or not they actually needed it. She sat in her chair behind the Captain’s chair, thinking. She really didn’t want to meet this guy, but she wanted to see if he was Force sensitive.  


“What would you say if I changed my mind, and I didn’t attend this meeting?” Sayriel asked, Varex turned around his chair to look at her.  


“Uhhh, well I’d have to explain why you aren’t there. The dude has a thing for Jedi so, that may upset him.” Varex said.  


“Well that’s too bad because I’m not a Jedi.” Sayriel replied. Varex rolled his blue eyes.  


“You know what I mean. Listen if you’re not there, then how will you know if he is Force sensitive.” Varex voiced her earlier conundrum like he had sensed it.  


“I can meditate on the list and finalize our next target!” Sayriel countered, Varex sighed. Krev, Avi, and Darr remained silent. They knew better than to take sides. Perhaps she’d be able to reach out and find their employer by latching into Varex’s signature in the Force? She retreated to her room and sat on her bunk. The more she thought about this, the more she had a negative feeling growing in her stomach. Like meeting this man was a bad idea. 

Once they reached Eufornis Major, Varex landed on the designated platform. He then met Krev, Avi, and Darr at the landing ramp to the ship. He noticed immediately that Sayr wasn’t present. He frowned and went to her room and knocked.  


“Who is it?” came Sayr’s voice. She knew very well who it was and was just doing that to be irritating.  


“Are you ready?” He asked, but he had a feeling he’d know her answer.  


“Yeah I’m not going.” Sayr replied flatly.  


“Sayr-“ Varex began but the door suddenly opened.  


“Listen Varex, I don’t feel right about going. I’m not going to just be something for him to stare at. The guy just wants to gawk. I’ll do my own recon about whether or not he is sensitive.”  


“And how will you do that?” Varex asked, crossing his arms across his chest.  


“I don’t know, but I just…something is telling me not to go!” Sayriel stated.  
Varex took a deep breath, Sayriel narrowed her eyes. Krev, Avi, and Darr elected to wait out on the platform. 

Varex, Krev, Darr, and Avi crowded into the speeder that their employer sent to meet them. The ride was silent, Krev played with the window in a bored manner. He rolled it down and back up, up and down, up and down.  


“Krev! Please!” Varex said in an exasperated tone. The Chiss rolled the window up slowly and sat back in his seat with a sigh.  


The speeder landed on a large private platform where some other luxury speeders were parked. The group filed out and headed into the foyer of the large, multi-story apartment. They looked around at the opulence that surrounded them, Varex finding himself uncomfortable. Krev looked into a large vase that looked paper thin, Varex silently prayed the Chiss was gentle with it. He ushered his men into the lift, which then rose so smoothly and silently Varex wondered if it was even operating. The doors slid open to reveal a foyer where some others were already sitting. Sidon Ithano’s crew.  


“I knew it!” Varex and Quiggold each said in unison. Apparently this guy had employed two groups to get these holocrons. Varex wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He kind of wished he had stayed on the ship with Sayr. There were enough chairs for Varex and his crew to sit, with one left over for Sayr. Reveth gave a nod to the empty chair and was about to say something when the large door at the opposite end of the lift opened and their benefactor walked into the foyer. 

Derian Cyres was a tall man, not particularly thin but not large. He fell somewhere in the middle. He was shorter than Varex, but not many besides Darr could beat Varex’s six foot, muscular frame. The new guy on Ithano’s crew came close though. Cyres was balding on the top of his head and the man seemed to be embracing it. He wore a kind smile and held his hands out towards them.  


“Welcome friends, I’m sure you have questions for me! And I am anxious to hear of your progress!” Cyres said in a friendly manner. The two pirate crews stood, Varex and Sidon Ithano following Cyres while their respective crews followed them. They were led into a large study, books lined the walls behind them and to the sides. The wall behind the large, ornate desk was actually one giant window that allowed them to look out upon the large city sprawling around them.  


“Please, sit. Refreshments?” Cyres offered, saving at a couple servants who hurried over with finger food and drinks. Varex gave a nod to his men, they could partake if they wanted. He refused, as did Ithano.  


“So why the two crews?” Varex asked, preferring to stand. The rest of his men sat on a large, brown leather sofa.  


“Oh right to business then. Okay. Well, as you know, getting the holocrons is very important to me. So I felt that if I hired two crews, the job would get done faster. Simple as that.” Cyres explained, pouring himself a glass of bourbon.  


Varex snorted, figured as much. The man wanted these things and didn’t want to wait longer than he felt necessary.  


“Why not tell us then? That you’d hired another crew?” Quiggold spoke up. Cyres gave a shrug. It irritated Varex with how casual this man was.  


“Would you have taken the job?” he asked, knowing the answer. He continued, “I know you’re irritated, but the reward won’t change. Just think of it as a friendly competition.” Cyres shrugged. The man then seemed to count those present.  


“We’re short someone? Where’s the Jedi?”  


“Force User.” Varex and Kix said in unison, Varex shooting the other man a glare. Cyres just looked between them and took a sip of his drink.  


“Yes, well, where is she? Ms. Nova.” He asked again, his pheasant demeanor fading just slightly.  


“She…she elected to stay behind to look over our list of potential targets. She’d successfully found two  
Holocrons but someone snatched one before we could.” Varex replied, giving a pointed nod at Ithano’s crew. Quiggold shrugged.  


“Not our fault our guy was faster than your Force User.” The peg legged first mate replied with a smirk, settling back in his large armchair. Varex opened his mouth to respond but Cyres interrupted.  


“No matter, you each have one now. I would like to see them.” He said, setting his drink down behind him. Varex took our their holocron while Kix removed the one Ithano’s crew had from a backpack. Varex noticed a medic’s symbol on the man’s pack. The two men placed the rare and ancient artifacts on a small table, Cyres couldn’t take his eyes off them.  


“Beautiful. Simply magnificent.” He whispered, almost to himself. Varex watched the man study the objects. He watched him trace the geometric designs with his fingers. The man was certainly pleased to see these objects, things that may very well be useless to him. Varex and Kix were quick to retrieve their respective holocron when Cyres put them back on the table. There was a flash of anger in Cyres’s face that Varex didn’t miss, neither did Kix.  


“Nothing personal, but we will let you keep them once we get paid. And when you have the complete set.” Varex said smoothly, pocketing his holocron. Cyres smirked.  


“Of course. Don’t let me keep you waiting then.” Derian Cyres replied. 

Varex and his crew couldn’t wait to get out of that apartment. Sidon Ithano and his crew followed. Once they were back outside, they walked towards their waiting chauffeurs.  


“So Nova refused to come?” Reveth asked, jogging up next to Varex and meeting the Zabrak‘s stride.  


“Straight up. I threatened to drag her here by her ankles, she said ‘I dare you’, and here we are.” Varex said matter-of-factly.  


“Really, you folded just like that?” The new guy on Ithano’s crew smirked.  


“Hey, I’ve known her for years. When she says those things in _that_ tone, you learn to just go with it.” Varex said defensively, walking towards one of the luxury speeders.  


“Varex! Wait!” Quiggold called, the Zabrak turning around with a sigh. He was eager to get back to the ship.  


“What do you want?” Krev sneered back. He stepped between his captain and Ithano’s first mate defensively.  


“I wasn’t talking to you.” Quiggold retorted, side stepping the Chiss. He then looked up at Varex and continued, “I was thinking we should have a meeting of our own.” he offered. Varex raised his brow line in surprise.  


“Excuse me?” He must’ve misheard the other.  


“I propose a sit down, your guys and us.” Quiggold said clearly. Varex gave the first mate a hard look.  
“Meet us on platform 54Y, and we’ll discuss this there.” Varex said as he got into the speeder. 

Platform 54Y wasn’t secluded, in fact it was smack dab in the middle of the part of the city they were in. It was one of the main platform hubs that dotted the area. Varex didn’t like that. Sidon Ithano and his crew arrived shortly after and landed next to _The Grand Orbiter_. Varex gave Quiggold and Captain Ithano a nod, one the Crimson Corsair returned. He then commed Sayr to lower the landing ramp and meet them outside. There was a moment’s pause and then the landing ramp lowered, Sayriel immediately noting the increased company. She made an unhappy face and stalked down the ramp.  


“Hey Sayr, Quiggold has-“ Varex started, Sayriel walking right passed him. His heart dropped, what was she doing? She looked furious.  


Kix watched the woman hone in on him almost as soon as he had come into view from where she stood on the landing ramp. He had been relieved when she had elected to remain out of the meeting earlier. He grimaced now as she walked down the ramp and ignored her Zabrak Captain completely. The Zabrak seemed to sense something was going to happen.  


“No hard feelings over-“ he started only to get punched hard on the right cheek by the upset woman.  


“Whoa!!” Varex exclaimed, immediately wrapping his arms around Sayriel, pinning her arms to her side. The woman struggled against him as Kix was surrounded by defensive crew mates. The man gingerly touched his cheek and laughed.  


“Is that all you got? Please, I’ve been hit harder by a child!” Kix sneered, Varex prayed to whatever deity watched over him that Sayriel wouldn’t Force choke this man. He tightened his grip on Sayriel more, Krev and Darr stepping in between Varex and Ithano’s crew. Varex turned his back to the other pirates and hunched down over Sayriel.  


“Calm down, please! They have a proposition for us I think.” He whispered, Sayriel stayed silent but went limp as she conceded. Varex released her and backed up quickly, Sayriel straightened up and smoothed down the front of her shirt. She took a deep breath and turned back towards Kix, pointing a finger at him.  


“That’s for dropping the Wookiee on me!” She explained, Kix shrugged nonchalantly. He’d do it again too if he had to, or got the chance to. 

Varex looked at Sayriel for a moment, she didn’t seem like she would kill anyone right now.  


“Okay, you wanted to talk?” Varex said, hoping his partner’s outburst hadn’t blown things. Quiggold looked at Sidon, who was staring at Sayriel. Varex looked at Sayr.  


“Apologize.” He directed. The woman looked aghast, like how dare he ask _her_ to apologize.  


“Hah! No way! If he can’t handle getting punched after dropping a 300lb Wookiee on someone, that’s his problem!” Sayriel said, an unhappy grumble coming from Darr.  


“Sorry, 275, you have lost weight.” Sayriel corrected, giving her furry friend an acknowledging nod.  


“Sayr.” Varex repeated. Sayriel gave him a deadly glare. The Zabrak gave a weak shrug.  


“Ugh fine, sorry I didn’t punch you harder.” Sayriel rolled her eyes at Kix.  


“That’s okay, you can try again next time.” Kix said with an accepting nod. That was as good as it was going to get.  


“Also, if you want to talk, there is a good noodle place on Denon. I can’t be seen eating somewhere here. I have a reputation to uphold. It’s not much, but it’s something.” Sayriel announced, turning on her heel and walking back up the ramp and into the ship, turning to throw a rude hand gesture to Kix, who returned it right back with a smirk. Varex sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.  


“She hasn’t changed much.” Quiggold said with a smirk.  


“Nope, I kind of almost wish that she had a _tiny_ bit more tact but,” Varex indicated a tiny space between his thumb and forefinger, but then dropped his arms to his sides, letting the rest of the sentence lapse.


	8. A Discussion Over Noodles

Denon was similar to Eufornis in that it was also an ecumenopolis, a city planet. It wasn’t nearly as opulent though, which made Sayriel happy. Down in Lodos district was a little noodle shop called Sakhet’s Noodles. The restaurant was owned and operated by a Kupohan named Sakhet. She had some of the best noodles in the galaxy as far as Sayriel was concerned. There were a wide variety of those and other items on her menu. As inconvenient as the stop at Denon was, Varex admitted that he had been thinking of how good some noodles sounded ever since Sayriel had mentioned it on Eufornis. 

The two crews sat at two tables that had been pushed together in the back of the restaurant, Sayriel had commed ahead to let Sakhet know of the large party on its way. Thankfully the place was relatively empty, but it wouldn’t stay that way as the evening drew on. Sidon Ithano’s crew sat on one side of the table, Varex and his comrades sat on the other. Varex had made sure he separated Kix and Sayriel, he sat across from the new crew member of the Crimson Corsair and made sure Sayriel sat next to him. He hoped he could grab her if she decided to launch herself across the table. The waitress had brought them their drinks and taken their orders, now they were waiting for their food. 

There was an awkward silence that fell over the table. Varex halfway wondered how Captain Ithano ate with that helmet on. Maybe he’d find out. He glanced at Sayr, she was looking at something on her datapad, Varex leaned over to see she was going through their list. She’d added a couple and taken some off. The waitress returned with their orders, Varex frowned when he saw Sidon’s order was to go. The green noodles Varex ordered smelled better than he remembered. The light broth they were bathing in was perfectly hot. He slurped up a few and decided to get this ball rolling.

“So, Quiggold, what’s this thing you wanted to discuss?” He asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Quiggold nodded and finished his mouthful of food.

“Yes, of course, I’m just going to get right to it. I was thinking, since we’re both not happy with this guy double hiring this job, why don’t we team up?” Darr, Avi, and Krev all stopped mid-slurp and looked down the table at their Captain and Sayr. Varex twirled some noodles around his fork. He stared at his food and considered the offer.

“Hah! You’re just saying that because we have a holocron now!” Sayr determined, eating some of her black and green noodles.

“We have a holocron too, in case you forgot that.” Kix spoke up.

“You mean the one you stole!” Sayriel replied. Kix made a face and laughed.

“You were stealing it first!” He pointed out, “I just stole it better.”

Sayriel frowned, made a fist with her right hand and pulled it back. Kix’s chair slid forward sharply, knocking the man into the table. Her plan was to have him face-plant in his food, but his reflexes were too fast and he braced himself on the tabletop. Before he could retaliate, Varex intervened.

“Children please!” He said wearily. He sighed and pressed his finger tips together and put his hands against his mouth. He studied Quiggold, Reveth, and Ithano. Kix and Sayriel were too busy glaring at each other. The Gamorrean had decided to stay with the _Meson Martinet_. It wasn’t often this offer was extended.

“What about the reward money?” He asked.

“We split it 50-50, each crew gets half.” Quiggold said firmly. Varex considered that, 100,000 credits split amongst the five of them would be 20,000 each. He made a face like he had tasted something gross. He didn’t like splitting 200,000 credits like that. Not when they had a Force user.

“We have Nova, so why bother joining our forces? Worried that she’ll find them faster than you can?” Varex asked, Quiggold giving an acknowledging nod.

“True, Nova’s skills do give you an advantage. But holocrons aren’t impossible to find without a Force User. It just makes it harder. Are you willing to risk us finding three more and completing the job first?” Quiggold countered. Varex was fairly confident in Sayriel to find the holocrons first, but…

_We could always agree and then steal the holocrons and deliver them ourselves_ , Sayriel’s voice sounded in his head as she spoke to him through the Force. She was eating her noodles and hadn’t appeared interested in the conversation after using the Force on the new guy.

“Fine. We’ll team up just this once. After this job is over, we go our separate ways.” Varex said, Quiggold and Sidon giving the Zabrak Captain a nod.

“Excellent.” Quiggold said, pleased this worked out. Of course he knew Varex and his crew might try to double cross them, Quiggold wasn’t stupid. But they’d deal with that when it happened.

“So what were you doing on Tatooine? There are no temples or sacred ruins there.” Sayriel asked, finishing the last of the noodles in her bowl.

“Jedi Master Obiwan Kenobi lived there for years, we decided to try to find his old home to see if there were any artifacts stored there.” Reveth said casually, Sayriel raised her eyebrows and made a face to express how impressed she was. That truly hadn’t occurred to her. Kenobi had been an important figure in her studies as a child.

“Did you find it?” She asked, interested. The exact location of Kenobi’s hovel on that backwater desert planet wasn’t known.

“No.” Quiggold spoke rather sharply and looked a little shaken.

“We found Sand Demons instead.” Kix finished, pushing his empty bowl away.

Sayriel gave a smirk, “Oh I bet _that_ was fun.”

“Yeah not as much as it sounds.” Quiggold said. Those creatures would take a while to forget.

“Wait, how did you know we went to Tatooine?” Kix asked, narrowing his eyes at Sayriel. “You did that Force user voodoo stuff huh?” He added. Sayriel gave him an amused smirk and pulled out Varex’s datapad and pulled up the tracking information for the _Meson Martinet_.

Back on board the _Grand Orbiter_ , Varex took Sayriel aside.

“Look, if we’re going to pull this off, I’m going to need you to put aside your dislike of the human on Ithano’s crew okay?” Varex spoke quietly.

“Yeah yeah, I figured that. Don’t worry, after punching him I’m good.” Sayriel held her hands up in an innocent gesture. Varex gave a nod.

“Where to next then? We’ll need to let Ithano’s crew in on the location” Varex asked, heading up the ladder that led from the cargo bay to the cockpit.

“I was thinking Moraband, a Sith world. If we technically have two light side holocrons, then we need two dark side ones now. There are at least two locations on that planet to check out.” Sayr said, following him into the cockpit. Darr, Avi, and Krev were sleeping so Sayriel took the copilot’s chair. Varex nodded and sent a message with coordinates to Quiggold.

Quiggold’s datapad pinged when a message came through. It was from Varex.

“Looks like we’re meeting them on Moraband.” He announced.

“A Sith planet? Are we sure that’s smart?” Reveth questioned, cleaning her mechanical arm. She’d gotten sand in the mechanisms.

“Well, two of the holocrons were requested to be Sith. So what better place to find them?” Quiggold countered. Reveth gave an uneasy nod. She was soon alone as Quiggold left to go up to the cockpit.

Kix folded his hands under his head as he laid on his bunk. He didn’t like the idea of teaming up with Varex and his crew. Particularly not with Sayriel Nova. He had successfully, for the last few years, avoided anything having to do with Jedi or the Force. Anything that could stir up unwanted memories of the past. And yet here he was looking for holocrons, a very Jedi-oriented thing, with a Force user no less. He felt anxious again. Why? It was her. Did she know about him? She’d felt his mind with her abilities. Did she know anyone in the Purge? Did his brothers kill anyone she knew? Did he fail her by failing to stop the plot orchestrated by Chancellor Palpatine? Did she hate him for that? 

Kix rolled onto his side. He had no reason to be thinking these things. She didn’t know anything about him. That Purge had happened over 50 years ago now. There had been others apparently since then, it was far more likely she could have known someone involved in those. And his brothers didn’t commit those atrocities. Kix shut his eyes tightly and shoved all of these thoughts away. He’d spent the last couple years reinventing himself. He was no longer Kix, member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was no longer Kix, 501st medic. Nor was he CT-6116. He was Kix, a member of the Crimson Corsair’s pirate crew. He was their medic when they needed him to be, a fighter when he had to be. Captain Ithano, along with his crew, had pulled him out of that stasis pod and nursed him back to health. They’d given him a new home and new job. They’d been patient with him. He didn’t answer to anyone but them, and certainly not to a Force user. Not anymore.

“This is just temporary. Just until we find the holocrons needed. Then we can collect the reward money and go back to raiding Separatist bases.” Kix told himself. That had the calming effect he was looking for. Soon they’d be richer than before and things would go back to normal and Nova would be just another memory.


	9. The Plan Comes Together

The man sat in a dark office, lit only by a lamp on his desk. He was waiting. Outside the large window in front of him, the busy nightlife of Eufornis sped by. A communicator on his desk beeped, he pressed a button. The small, transparent figure of Derian Cyres appeared.

“Well?” The man asked, he grew impatient easily.

“They have two.” Cyres reported, “I saw them myself. Two Jedi holocrons.” He added. The man could sense Cyres’ nerves. Cyres stood at attention, his hands fisted at his sides.

“Good, was she there?” The man asked, turning back to his datapad, he was skimming over the information he had on all those hired to get the holocrons. There wasn’t a reply.

“Cyres, was she there?” The man didn’t like to repeat his questions.

“No…no sir. She wasn’t.” Cyres admitted, his voice faltering. The man could see the rise and fall of Derian’s chest quicken.

“Hmm. You’ll need to extend another invitation to her.” The man instructed. He would only allow one more attempt by this man to get his target in range. Or he would need to resort to more direct means.

“Yes, yes sir. Of course.” Cyres seemed relieved. The man cut off communications immediately after. He had no more to say to his puppet.

He set the datapad down on his desk and leaned back in his chair. Two holocrons. The plan had worked in more than one way. Cyres was right, that two groups could produce faster results. Plus his target was involved in some way. Cyres had the credits to fund this operation, and a plausible reason for the holocrons. He was non-threatening in that he wasn’t Force sensitive, so that wouldn’t set off red flags for his target. Plus, he had instructed Cyres to hire these two particular groups, as his target had a history working with both. She was bound to be hired by one of them for this job. He would have to tread carefully. She was smart, quick. She had a good handle on the Force and how to use it. Her master had seen to that. She was vulnerable though, she could go either way in terms of Force alliance. She just needed a prod in the right direction and she’d fall easily.

Arden Vel summoned his associate, Orden Gartel, a former teacher at the sect his target studied at. He would know how to poke her; he had instructed the man to keep close tabs on Nova. Orden Gartel walked into Vel’s office a few moments later. He bowed low and took the seat that Vel offered him.

“We need to discuss Sayriel Nova.” Arden Vel got straight to the point. He noticed Gartel’s eyes narrow at the mention of Nova. The other man pursed his lips together. Vel could feel the hate for the woman radiating off Gartel. It was because of Nova that Gartel had been dismissed from the sect. It was because of Nova, Vel had been deprived of converts. That had been temporary of course, but it still caused a delay.

“Tell me what you know about her.” Vel instructed. “We need to find her weakness, something that will cause her to fall from the tightrope she walks every day.”

“She’s unstable. She pretends to have a tight hold on her convictions, but she doesn’t. She will fold if the right pressure is applied.” Gartel was all too happy to spill Nova’s weaknesses to Vel.

“Her main one is her attachment to her former lover Varex, as well as to Master Aden Tarrek. Those two keep her in check when it comes to her choice of Force ability. She doesn’t want to disappoint them. She values their opinion and she cares about what they think of her. We get rid of those two, she’ll be left alone.” Gartel had some ideas about how that can happen, but he waited while Vel processed that information.

“Nova calls on the Dark Side more than she realizes. It may not be with her choice of Force abilities, but with her thoughts and her behavior. She’s quick to anger and she finds torture as a quicker method of interrogation. During her training, she mastered the ability to hide herself from other Force users more quickly than my other students. And more efficiently. She’s not special in anyway other than how fast she picks up skills and how well she can perform them.”

“How does she know the Zabrak?” Vel asked, interested to figure out the connection between the two.

“From what I can tell, they met after she left the sect. She took part in an uprising on the planet Andelm IV, which is where Varex was from. The two made quite a team and it was there that Nova called on many Dark Side techniques to advance the rebels in their cause. The two formed their relationship there, the bond between them cemented by the adrenaline rush of combat. He encouraged her, she encouraged him. When the uprising failed and he was exiled, she left with him. Eventually they separated and she took independent work as a smuggler and bounty hunter, where she favored choking her victims into submission.”

Gartel gave a quick run down on Nova’s background. Her affinity for criminal activity and partaking in revolutions played a part in her choices for how she used the Force. Techniques she developed from the Dark Side gave faster results, so that made it a prime option to use during such activities.

“She’s always questioned her fate. Ever since the Force saw fit to bestow on her the two Sith crystals for her saber staff. She does avoid using her lightsaber because of the connection it has to the Sith. But, she does know how to use it. We’ll need a way to subdue her quickly.”

Vel sat back and thought for a moment, darkness cloaking him as he moved away from the soft glow of the lamp. The silence that filled the room was thick and almost suffocating. Gartel though he saw shadows move around in the darkness, but perhaps it was a hallucination.

“If Derian Cyres comes through and is able to get Nova alone, can you force her to listen?” Vel asked, looking at Gartel with piercing eyes. The other man nodded.

“She won’t have a choice.” He replied with a smirk.

“She’s strong, but I taught her. I know how to make her listen.” The response was confident. Vel would have to wait to see if that confidence is real or just for show.

“If not we will need to resort to more direct means of getting her attention.” Vel explained, already knowing exactly how that was going to go. First he’d have Nova kill Master Tarrek and then he’d make her kill Varex. She would have no choice. No way out. Unless she agreed to work with him. Of course, Vel would have her kill the Zabrak and Nautolan anyways, to ensure her allegiance. A drawer slid open on the desk, untouched by anyone physically. Vel reached in and pulled out a vial of clear liquid, which he placed on the desk between him and Gartel. Gartel pulled the vial to him with the Force and inspected the label.

“Tranqarest?” Orden looked at Vel. Tranqarest was a powerful sedative. Powerful enough to knock out a Jedi Knight. Or in their case, a morally questionable Grey Jedi. Regular sedatives didn’t work on Force users completely or not at all, thanks to the very thing that made them unique.

“This should allow you to subdue her with binders and a Force suppression collar.” Vel stated matter-of-factly. “I’ve instructed Derian Cyres to invite her over to his apartment. If she agrees, you can take her there. If not, you will be able hunt her down. I can provide you with resources.” He added.

Gartel stood and pocketed the vial, “I will pay Mr. Cyres a visit then.” He left the room with a low bow and purposefully strode towards his speeder. Vel watched his lackey leave the room, he then switched off the lamp on his desk with the Force, darkness blanketing him completely. He sighed and leaned back. Sayriel Nova was important to his cause for one reason, her talent. She was probably the most talented Force user Arden Vel had seen in a long time. She was determined, creative, and thought two steps ahead of the students she had sparred against. Vel liked to have the best of the best, and students that worked hard at their skills. She didn’t have natural talent like some, she had had to work hard and study and practice. Sayriel didn’t come from any famous bloodline. In fact from what little existed of her parentage, Vel deduced that they simply hadn’t been up to the challenge of raising a Force-sensitive child, which was a daunting task to say the least. Not many parents could handle it and it was one of the main reasons some readily gave their children up to the Temples.

Sayriel, should be be successful in pushing her over the edge, would be a valuable player on his game board. She’d be able to train those lesser in skill and she would be able to apply her talents in other areas. She had a natural beauty to her, which could be put to use as well. A pretty girl can be a useful player, but a beautiful and skilled woman was a dangerous player. He allowed his mind to wander back to the moment he first saw her, years ago on Yavin IV. She had to have been 8 at the time, training with that Nautolan Master. She had been toiling away on the same three movements with her double-bladed saber practice staff. The trick with a duel bladed weapon was not impale oneself while fighting. She was tired, that had been evident, but her face was determined. She paid for any fault in her footing with a smack from her Master’s practice staff. Sure footing helped balance and aided in agility. If her footwork was lacking, her blade work would suffer. He had watched her grow from a determined child to a woman confident in her ability to fight. He noticed something they had in common then, her eagerness to win. She celebrated besting her opponents and blamed herself when she failed. 

He took more interest in her when she was transferred from Master Tarrek to Orden Gartel. Gartel was the one who began to encourage her to favor dark side moves and methods. He was the one who nurtured her skills in interrogation. He was the one who taught her to fight through the pain or lack of breath. Vel believed that if she had stayed with that Nautolan, Sayriel would’ve had sure footing on the balance beam all Grey Jedi walked. But thankfully Gartel had been able to get her exactly where Vel needed her to be.


	10. Yavin IV - part 1

Sayriel stood anxiously outside the Great Room. Around her, other students either stood, sit, or slept depending on how confident they felt with their exams. She had heard of how the trials would go and she wasn’t sure how she’d handle those when the time came. She took deep breaths but that didn’t seem to slow her heart beating. She looked at the students who slept and was wondering now if they were meditating. However a snore from one boy told her different. Some students probably stayed up for hours last night practicing and studying. Not only were they tested on how well they performed with force skills or lightsaber skills, but also on how well they knew the history of the Jedi and Sith. 

The door opened and one student’s name was called, not hers, but a little girl that had to be about 10 years old. The child marched confidently to the door and the elder Force User stepped aside to allow her to enter. The door slid shut and the other students went back to waiting. They were calling students alphabetically by last name and N was still a ways away. One by one, kids were called in. Some left the area with a smile, others left in tears, some left with no expression at all. By the time her last name was called, Sayr had sunk down onto the floor just outside the door. The Master looked down at her and beckoned her inside the room. With a deep breath, she stood up on shaking legs. Could they see them shake? Hopefully not. She squared her shoulders as much as her nerves would allow and walked into the room. 

At a long table at the opposite end of the room sat the Masters that taught at the sect along with some scouts from other sects on Yavin IV and beyond. She looked briefly at Master Tarrek who gave her a comforting smile. He wouldn’t have allowed her to take the exam if he didn’t feel she was ready right? She tried to convince herself of that, but the exams went by ages. Not experience level, those were the trials. She stood in the center of the room, her bare feet felt the course texture of the carpeted floor. She clasped her hands in front of her and waited for the exam to begin. It was silent in the room, there wasn’t a sound that could be heard at all. Many of the rooms in the temple were sound-proofed, but none was as efficiently done as the Great Room. No one outside could hear what was happening inside and vice versa. 

This was the first test. How would she handle standing in one place? How would she deal with the silence? Would she welcome it? Would it agitate her? Some people couldn’t stay in a silent space for too long without having to make some noise. Eventually someone would rock back and forth or look around. But not Sayriel. She stayed still, hands clasped in front of her. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She wasn’t mediating. She thought of this like a yoga pose. She felt the sturdiness of the hard floor beneath her feet. The rough carpet pattern on her soles. She recognized the feeling of one of her hands in the other, together and individually. She counted her breaths; 7 slow inhalations, 7 slow exhalations. There was movement nearby. She felt someone around her through the Force. She wanted to open her eyes and see if she was right, but instead she kept them closed and trusted she was right.

She followed her instincts and raised her left forearm defensively, a hand suddenly hitting her arm. She opened her eyes to see she had successfully blocked a strike from Master Joo Lynn. The female Mirialan smirked in approval. Master Tarrek had helped get her ready for this particular test by using a thick blindfold. She had received many smacks with a training saber rod until she got the hang of using the Force as her only sense of sight.

“There might be a time where you will have only the Force to rely upon.” He instructed her during every session. She was pleased that she was able to show him there that his efforts weren’t in vain.

Master Joo Lynn walked back to her seat and the test continued. One by one, each Master approached her in a different way. All stealth. Master Tarrek was the only one not allowed to participate as she was his student.

“Well done Miss Nova.” Came the soft voice of Master Joo Lynn. Sayriel gave a nod to the Mirialan, secretly hoping the woman would pick her as her student. Master Joo Lynn was one of the best Force combat practitioners Sayriel had ever seen. All of the Masters seated in front of her were beyond talented, and each had their own teaching style. Sayriel had heard some where more strict than the others, which made her nervous. As the exam progressed, Sayriel showcased many of the skills she had learned from Master Tarrek. Everything from basic history to knowing which Masters told lies and which spoke truths. Meditation came next, which wasn’t her strong suit. She had two minutes to fall into a steady meditative rhythm. That time limit had stressed her out in practice sessions and she had frequently failed because of that. Until she decided to try to hold her breath for two minutes. Then it turned into the longest time frame ever. That had helped her focus and get to the level of meditation she needed to be at and remain at.

Five minutes into the session, something changed. Someone was approaching, fast. She had just seconds to open her eyes and defend herself. She through a hand up to defend herself just as the sound of a lightsaber blade igniting sliced through the silence. Sayriel opened her eyes to find Master Orden Gartel’s green lightsaber pressing down on the force barrier she had created in defense. She reached out with the Force and her own saber flew into her hand from its place in front of Master Tarrek. She only ignited one blade, the sight of the bright red glow made her stomach drop but she pushed it aside. It’s just a color, it’s not who you are, she told herself. She pushed Master Gartel away with the Force hard enough to allow her to get to her feet. 

He was already charging her again, not saying a word. She had no time for a proper stance. The final test had begun. She ducked the swipe of the green blade and slashed with her own saber. Gartel jumped back, the red blade came within half and inch of his mid-section. She was fast and steady with her movements. No hesitation. It’s what he liked to see in a potential student. Still, she had a double-bladed saber. How was she going to use it? Some only ignite the second blade if they have to, others alternate and use it to catch their opponent off guard. He backed off and waited for her to come to him, which she did. She swung at his feet, which he moved to block but then quickly ducked when her second blade came swinging at his face. He watch it extinguish, her hands hadn’t moved on the hilt. She was using the Force to control her blades. Clever. That took a level of control since you didn’t want to accidentally ignite or extinguish the wrong blade. That could end badly, especially with her saber style. 

The duel continued, Gartel stepping aside for another Master to take his place. Sayriel knew each Master would have a different fight style. With some she held her own with easily. Others, she kept herself from being singed too badly and that was an accomplishment. She employed her skills carefully, she didn’t want to actually hurt any of these people. She used the Force to hold Master Rayla’s left foot in place while she swiped at her right. Master Joo Lynn’s strike burnt the clothing on Sayr’s shoulder, but it was worth it because Sayr had been able to grab the woman’s saber hilt. Small injuries were going to happen in combat, but you had to push passed them. Orden Gartel didn’t fail to notice that. She combined traditional hand to hand combat with saber combat when going up against Master Farsala. She blocked his saber strike and aimed to punch him. He caught her fist in his and she ignited her second blade which was aimed at his foot. He smirked as the smell of burnt leather wafted through the room. Her lightsaber hadn’t pierced the material, but it was close. The purpose of the live duel was to showcase a student’s skill set, it wasn’t meant to injure. Strikes and swipes with a blade should all be controlled enough to stop or pull back before any serious damage is done. Burns were part of the territory, since the blades were comprised of fiery plasma. The controlled movements were also graded. If a student caused any actual damage to an instructor, it would be grounds for failure since it showed lack of basic control.

The duel was ended after Master Farsala’s turn, the Togruta checking his shoe to make sure it wasn’t too damaged.

“I wasn’t fond of these ones anyways.” He jokes with a wink at Sayriel, who gave a small laugh in return. Master Farsala was a good teacher, and handsome. Lots of the female students were fond of him. Sayriel had to admit that he had a nice smile. The hard part was over, now came the stressful part. The waiting. She gripped her saber hilt tightly in her hands in front of her and waited while Master Farsala took his seat.

“Miss. Nova, thank you. You’re dismissed.” Master Joo Lynn said with a smile and a nod. Sayriel bowed low and walked towards the door. Upon reentering the hall, the faces of those waiting looked up at her. Some showed nervousness, others looked like they were going to throw up. Still other students looked comfortable and confident. Sayriel kept her face emotionless as she left the space and headed towards her room at an easy pace. She only allowed herself to let out sigh after the door to her quarters slid shut behind her.

“I think I did okay…” she said to herself. She put her saber on the table next to the door and pulled off her boots, hopping in place on one foot and then the other. It was time to relax and try to ignore the stress of waiting. She threw herself down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She replayed the exam in her head. She had made a couple errors but nothing that would get her a failing grade surely. She knew she wouldn’t hear her results for a while yet, there were at least 6 students still waiting their turns when she left. She tried to nap, but that wouldn’t work. Maybe some reading? Nope, she closed the book once she realized she had read the same phrase four times. An hour and thirty minutes had passed, she was sitting on the edge of her bed when the idea struck her. She snapped her fingers and stood up, looking at an air vent. She moved a desk chair under the vent and stood on it, carefully pushing the vent cover up and feeling around in the duct. Her fingers finally found it, the wonderful shape of the chocolate spread she kept hidden up there. She retrieved her secret treat and replaced the vent. She hopped off the chair and dug around in a drawer until she found a disposable spoon. Unscrewing the lid, she dipped the spoon into the spread and brought a small spoonful to her mouth.

Just as her lips closed around the sweet spread, her door opened and Master Tarrek entered.

“Really, right from the jar?” He asked his surprised apprentice, who currently looked at him like a startled deer. He tried to look disappointed with her, but a smirk tugged at the edge of his lips. He walked toward her bed, hands folded in front of him, and motioned for her to scoot aside. Spoon still in her mouth, Sayr moved to give her Master some space. The bed dipped as he sat beside her, he was quiet for a moment. Sayriel’s heart pounded in her chest, she removed the spoon from her mouth, making sure to clean off as much chocolate as she could in doing so. She replaced the lid on the jar and set it next to her.

“Well, you did well.” He said finally, Sayriel nodding in response.

“Good enough for Masters Gartel and Farsala to fight over you.” He added with a smirk. Sayriel’s eyes widened as she whipped her head toward her Master.

“Really?” She couldn’t believe it.

“Really, well not fight fight but you know what I mean. Each wanted you as their student. I am very proud of you.” Master Tarrek said, giving his student a nudge.

“So…who is my new teacher?” Sayriel finally asked, finding herself hoping it would be the handsome Togruta Master. She was shameless in this hope actually.

“Master Gartel.” Master Tarrek replied, his voice expressing the finality of the event. Sayriel couldn’t help her shoulders dropping slightly.

“Master Gartel is a talented Force User. You will progress wonderfully under his teaching.” Her Nautolan Master reassured her, sensing her disappointment and her nerves. Sayriel nodded in response. Master Orden Gartel had a reputation for being a very tough teacher.

“I know he doesn’t teach like I do, but his students do very well. Many actually take their trials early.” Master Tarrek calmed her with his ability to always know what she was thinking. Sayriel put on her bravest face and gave her Master a smile and nod. He was right after all. Master Tarrek returned her smile and fell silent. The two sat in silence for a couple moments, until it was broken by Master Tarrek.

“Give me that.” He said quietly, nodding at the jar between them. Sayriel did as he instructed. “I have a clean spoon I can get you.” She said, starting to get up. She was stopped by her Master’s hand on her arm.

“After a few years as your teacher, I am still not afraid of your cooties.” He joked, Sayriel laughed and handed him her used spoon. She watched her Master eat a spoonful of chocolate spread, he closed his eyes as he savored the taste.

“It really is better from the jar.” He agreed.

“The best!” Sayriel nodded.

  
That was the last time she had seen Master Tarrek as his student.

  


Onboard _The Grand Orbiter_ , Sayr was standing on a chair in her quarters. She had one arm stuck in the small air duct in the ceiling of her room. Her hands closed on a familiar shape. She pulled out the jar of chocolate spread and fished a spoon from the table drawer next to her bed. She was perched on the edge on her bunk, a spoonful of chocolate halfway to her mouth, when the door opened.

“Really? Directly from the jar?” Varex asked in a disappointed tone. He looked at her and shook his head.

“Yup!” Sayriel said, popping the spoonful into her mouth.

Varex smirked and sat down next to her, taking the spoon she now offered him. He put a spoonful into his own mouth and hummed.

“So good.” He sighed, then slapped Sayriel’s thigh gently. “Time to go, our Sith planet awaits.” He added, standing up and heading back to the cockpit.

Sayriel replaced the jar lid and hid her treat back in the air duct. That spread would always remind her of a happier time. Before the storm.


	11. Moraband

Sayriel sighed dramatically as she walked down the ramp of _The Grand Orbiter_.

“It’s hot!” She announced, putting her hands on her hips.

“A Force User _and_ observant? Wow Varex! Where did you find her?” Kix asked, his tone basically swimming in sarcasm.

“Well you have to find a place that’s dirty and full of drunks…” Varex informed, he sounded like he was letting Kix in on a secret.

“Kriff both of you…” Sayriel flashed Varex and Kix a vulgar gesture and shaded her eyes against the sun. Before them lay the Valley of the Dark Lords, red sand kicked up by the wind gave the area a hazy look.

“And I though Tatooine was baron…” Quiggold remarked, Sidon Ithano stood next to him, his armor almost the same color as the sand. His cape was blown against him by the wind.

“It didn’t always look like this, apparently pre-Sith occupation it was a very green place. But that’s the pattern with Sith inhabited worlds, they corrupt everything down to the bedrock.” Sayriel’s face had an unpleasant expression on it.

She was uncomfortable here and didn’t want to remain on this planet any longer than necessary. The two groups had landed their ships about half a mile away from the site. It was the only area that had stable ground, Varex didn’t want to risk getting stuck here. Even if he wasn’t a Force User, he was superstitious. There was a road that led into the Valley, large cracks had formed over the years and some large blocks of stone jutted up from areas in the path. Sayriel led the group forward, a scarf wrapped around her face and mouth, goggles covered her eyes. She was keenly aware of her surroundings and kept her lightsaber in her hand.

“Is she always this alert?” Kix asked Varex, his years of training and experience caused him to notice the woman’s behavior. Her steps were cautious and planned. Her head would swerve to check out a sound that he couldn’t hear, or perhaps a feeling. Her hand was tight on her weapon. It made him nervous.

“She just doesn’t like it here. I think she’s trying to make sure we’re alone.” Varex replied, himself nervous as well. They did not need any surprises of the Sith variety.

Mountains loomed up on either side of them, their snowless peaks razor sharp and foreboding. The pathways curved and edged along a chasm that plummeted miles down a cliff side. That may have been a way up previously, but time had since eroded and crumbled it into nothing. Sayriel could see the sharp top of the Temple that stood at the end of the Valley. There was an argument inside her that got stronger and more fierce with every step. The Light inside her screamed to stop, to go back. The Darkness wanted her to run to the Temple and give herself over to it.

“You doing okay up there?” Varex’s voice sounded distant.

“Fine.” Sayriel clipped back, she had a death grip on her saber hilt now. She didn’t see the look Kix and Varex exchanged. The roadway was only large enough for them to walk either single file or in pairs. Fitting for a Sith planet. Sayriel led the way with Kix and Varex behind her, Quiggold and Ithano behind them. Darr and Reveth chatted quietly and Krev and Avi brought up the rear. Squeaky had elected to stay with the ships, comm had been given to him that linked directly to both Captains should he spot someone approaching.

Soon they stood at the entrance to the Valley, the wind had picked up considerably. Sand blew harshly and stung any exposed skin. That combined with the blistering heat reminded Sayriel of how inhospitable the Dark side was, and why only certain people survived the training. She glanced up briefly at the cloaked statues that flanked either side of the walkway as she entered the Valley. Any facial features that may have been carved under the hoods had since eroded away, but Sayriel still felt them staring. Their heads seemed to follow her as she walked passed. She stopped in the middle of the Valley and looked around, there were mausoleums on either side of the walkway and the Temple stood above them all. There could be a Sith holocron in any of these.  
_The Light side won’t help you find a Sith holocron, not accurately at least._ A voice inside her whispered. She knew what it was. She knew what would happen if she listened to it too often.

“Spread out, but stick to groups. Don’t trust anything you see here okay, the Force can affect anyone of you. If you find what you think is a holocron, let me know and I’ll double check.” Sayriel instructed, her voice authoritative. She didn’t need anyone getting possessed or being put under a severe mind trick.

_Come on, use your skills to find your prize._ The voice whispered. Sayriel quickly grimaced, an action which didn’t go unnoticed by Kix or Varex. While Varex was aware of his friend’s issues with using the Force, Kix’s alertness came from him noticing minute changes in his brothers’ expressions and small inflections in their voices to determine their mood. It wasn’t hard for him to pick up on Sayriel’s speedy expressions. 

There were nine of them. Reveth, Darr, Krev, and Avi formed a search group, which didn’t surprise Sayriel. She could sense that Krev had a crush on Reveth. It was one that the red-skinned Twi’lek either ignored or was oblivious to. Sayriel couldn’t sense her feelings as well as Krev’s.

“Sayr, I’m going to search with Kix and-“, Varex began but was cut off.

“Fine, whatever.” Sayriel snapped at him, turning to stalk off towards a mausoleum. Quiggold was going to call after her but Varex stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“The sooner we find this thing, the sooner we get off here, the better her attitude will get.” The Zabrak said in a hushed tone. He thought Sayriel was far enough away to not hear him, but he didn’t want to take chances.

“Is it fine to let her go off on her own?” Kix asked as they group of four walked towards one of the tombs at the entrance to the Valley.

“You wanna tell her she can’t?” Varex asked back, brow arched. After a moment of though, Kix shook his head in reply and that was that.

Once away from the groups, Sayriel sighed and leaned against the base of a statue, closing her eyes.  
_The sooner you get this done and over with, the sooner you’ll get to leave. Just reach out with the Dark side and this can all be over._ Sayriel’s eyes opened as she shook her head, trying the clear the voice from her mind.

“No, I don’t need to use you. I can do this without you. The Force is the Force. I can find Dark side junk with the Light side.” She said aloud, suddenly worried someone could’ve heard. She pushed herself off the statue and impulsively turned to look at it. Darth Bane stared threateningly ahead and then suddenly, his stone face looked down at her. Started, Sayriel jumped back and blinked a few times. The statue’s face once again looked ahead into the mountains and vast wasteland beyond.

“This is what it does, it tricks you. Don’t rely fully on it.” She whispered to herself, sinking down to the ground and leaning up against the statue.

_But you haven’t used me in 6 months. Remember? You cannot cease to use me because I am part of you. To allow me to atrophy will cause imbalance in yourself._  
Sayriel tilted her head sideways briefly in acknowledgment.

“Just this once, so I can get off this rock.” She conceded.

_Of course._  
  
Sighing and eyes closed, Sayr leaned her head back against the statue’s base, Darth Bane’s stone boots touching her neck. She reached out upon exhaling and felt a rush of emotions. She could always feel those in her group, their presence like ripples on a smooth lake. This felt like splashes on a turbulent sea, layers upon layers of emotions. It was clear to Sayr which area she was stronger in when it came to the Force. Most people felt cold when near the Dark side, Sayr felt comfort. She felt confident. Assured. Strong. Powerful. All of those feelings built onto each other and formed a level of security she didn’t have when using the Light side. Grey users like herself could feel this way using either side, Jedi felt like this with the Light, but with a sense of calm she couldn’t attain.  
Filtering out the needless emotions of her comrades, she felt a singular pull in the Force. The mausoleum behind her tugged at her to come inside. Darth Bane beckoned her inside, as it was his resting place. She turned and peered around the base of the statue towards the entrance to the mausoleum. Rising to her feet, she took a breath, pulling the scarf more securely around her face. She slid her lightsaber into a pocket on her pant leg, she wouldn’t need it in there. As she walked towards the dark entrance to Darth Bane’s tomb, her steps grew from hesitation to confidence. The wind and whipping sand ceased as soon as she stepped inside the darkness. She noted the temperature change, but chalked that up to it being dark and shaded from the sun.

She stopped and observed the inscriptions and artwork on the walls of his tomb, she knew the depictions were from Sith history and Bane’s own life. He had developed the Sith Rule of Two, an action that had eventually resulted in the destruction of the Jedi during the days of the Republic and the Clone Wars. Sayriel knew the basics of what happened then, what led up to it, the faults on the Jedi’s side and on the side of the Senate. But it was hard to blame a singular group as responsible since the Dark side was a powerful force. Secrecy and trickery were staple principles of the teachings. Sayriel found herself thinking Bane clever for coming up with such a tactic.  
_Give credit where credit is due_ , whispered the voice. Sayriel wasn’t sure how much of this feeling was her own and how much was from the surroundings. The hallway towards the main burial chamber was dark, there were sconces on the wall but the torches in them had long gone cold. She progressed onward, pushing away the tiny voice that pleaded to go back. She needed to secure this holocron. Then she could leave. 

The hallway opened up to a large chamber, a gigantic statue of an armored Darth Bane stood guard behind the large sarcophagus that held the remains of the once powerful Sith Lord.  
_Once powerful? Perhaps it was he who led you here._ The voice piped up, putting the thought in Sayriel’s head that perhaps the Sith Lord had helped her locate the artifact. _That’s nonsense, Sith don’t do anything out of kindness or helpfulness. There is always a reason why._ Sayriel reminded herself, Master Tarrek’s lessons coming back from the past. With that, Sayriel got to work trying to find exactly where the holocron was in this room. There was a lot of energy being emitted from the space, from different items buried with the Sith Lord and from items in the tombs nearby. There was one thing in particular that seemed to emit a stronger pulse than the others though. A small box perched on a table at the feet of the armored statue. 

Cautiously, Sayriel approached it and picked up the box carefully. She turned it around in her hands, not finding a clear lid or drawer. There were geometric designs etched into the box that mirrored the designs found on holocrons. She shook the box carefully and sure enough there was something in there. _Just how do I open it_ , Sayr asked herself.  
_You know how._ The voice answered, the Dark side prodded her to use it. She used the Darkness inside her to poke around the box, maybe she had to use the Force to open it? Nothing. Part of her just wanted to smash it, but she risked damaging the item inside. Plus the box basically screamed sacred in the Force, and for some reason she couldn’t damage a Dark side object. During her Force inspection, a small drawer slid open, which wasn’t big enough to hold a holocron. She reached a couple fingers into the thin drawer and took out a small obsidian blade. Frowning she set the shard aside and took the box into her hands once more and gave it a gentle shake. Yup, something else still rattled in there. She set the box back down on the pedestal and put her hands on her hips. She was getting impatient. She was wondering just how sturdy holocrons were when an image popped into her head. Her lightsaber.

“No, that would definitely damage the holocron if I used that on the box…” she said aloud.

_What is inside your lightsaber?_ The voice spoke. Sayriel frowned and took her weapon out of her pant leg pocket. It was comprised of metal, and circuits, and two crystals.  
_What about the crystals?_ The voice spoke.

“What about them?” Sayriel spoke softly. She began to think back to when she got the crystals, or rather when the Force presented them to her. She had felt the stares from the other students when the crimson blades emerged from either side of her saber hilt. She had felt a sense of power surge through her, the vibration of energy had felt invigorating. She had heard a few students whisper “Sith” and “Dark side”, after which she had shut the saber down. Her Master reiterated that the only difference between her saber and his was the color. That hers would do the same as his.

_But what was it about Sith crystals that made them different from Jedi crystals?_ The voice asked, it had since grown stronger and seemed to sound like it was around her. Encircling her.

“Sith crystals were bled. The Sith practitioner endowed the crystal with their anger and fear…”

_Bleed…bleed….bled._ That word kept sounding off in her head followed by images of blood. She tried to think of something else, tried to block it, but it was overpowering. 

She saw herself standing by the pedestal, a long black cloak encasing her body. Heart pounding, she watched herself draw the hood back, revealing her pale face. She picked up the obsidian blade in one hand and positioned it over the upturned palm of her other hand. In one swift, decisive movement, Sayriel watched herself slice open her hand. She then formed a fist and dripped blood on the top of the box. The blood pooled in the engraved designs and seemed to spread out and follow the designs around the box. A dark red light emitted from the etchings and the lid of the box revealed itself.  
Sayriel’s vision looked at her and opened the lid of the box with a dark smirk. Upon blinking, the vision vanished and Sayr was left alone in the room.

_You’re never alone._ The voice answered her thoughts. 

As if controlled, Sayriel picked up the obsidian blade and slashed a deep cut in her palm. She didn’t even think of the pain it would cause, nor did she feel the pain. That was likely due to the sharpness of the blade’s edge. The sharper the blade, the cleaner the cut. She fisted her hand and watched as her blood dripped onto the top of the box. Things progressed like they had in her vision, the blood flowed it’s way around the designs, illuminated by a dark red glow. The lid of the box became visible, a line of red light marking its location. She wiped her bloodied hand on her pant leg and opened the lid to the box. Her efforts were rewarded with a triangular holocron.


	12. The Storm

Varex leaned against the wall of the tomb that his group was searching through.

“Ya know, you can lend a hand.” Quiggold notes as he lifted the lid of a pot cautiously. Varex assumed he was checking to see if there were any spirits in there.

The first mate hadn’t relinquished his rosary beads since stepping out of the _Meson Martinet_. Of course, Varex couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t too fond of this place, and he wasn’t a Force User. He rolled his eyes and walked up to the sarcophagus in the center of the small mausoleum. He observed Kix looking at the painting on the wall, the pigment having chipped away in places due to age and sand.

“Are you a fan?” Varex asked sarcastically. Kix turned to look at him, dark eyebrow raised.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, are you a fan of Sith-“ Varex had placed a hand on the top of the sarcophagus to lean on and the edge suddenly slid off the base slightly. Everyone stopped in their tracks. The Zabrak, forgetting his own strength, shared a startled, horrified look at Kix, who hurried over to help shove the lid back into place. The man and Zabrak Captain then looked around, Quiggold’s beads were the only noise heard. Kix gave a relieved sigh.

“Superstitious much?” Varex teased.

“Yeah, a little. I’ve seen things.” Kix replied, choosing his words carefully. “Besides, the look on your face tells me you’re superstitious too.” The man added with an equally teasing smirk.

“Yeah well, I’ve seen things.” Varex answered. Kix rolled his eyes and went back to looking at the artwork. He had never been one to appreciate art in the past, there had never been time, but these paintings frightened him. They weren’t the welcoming and beautiful artwork he had seen reflected in Jedi designs. These evoked a sense of fear and came from a place of deep seeded rage. He tore his eyes away and was relieved when Ithano suggested checking out another tomb.

He followed his group back out into the Valley, taking a look around when they left the cover of the mausoleum. Reveth, the Wookie, Chiss, and Rodian were taking a break by one of the large statues that flanked the walkway. The Wookie stood in the shade, his thick fur had to make it five times hotter for him. Reveth was adjusting a cover over her mechanical arm, not wanting to get sand in it again. He hung back while his group entered another tomb, he wanted to get a closer look at one of the shrouded statues. He walked over to one of the large stone figures and looked up at it. The carver hadn’t shaped a face out of the stone under the hood, they had left it blank. Kix felt that was an intentional move, since a faceless figure was more intimidating than one with features. The figure looked as if his head was bowed in prayer, the hands clasped in front. He moved to another statue a few feet away, it was identical to the first.

“Hey! You coming?” Varex called out of the tomb.

“Yeah.” Kix called back, his eyes on the statue’s featureless face. He turned around and saw that Varex was staring at something behind him.

“What?” Kix asked, frowning and turning around. He didn’t see anything, until movement above caught his eye. He looked up to the mountains behind them.

“Kriff.” He and Varex said in unison. A huge sandstorm swirled over the mountain peaks and was howling towards them. It had sprung up out of nowhere. The storm began to fall into the Valley. Reveth and her group dashed into a nearby tomb and Varex yelled at Kix to hurry. The former clone sprinted towards the Zabrak but he was swallowed up by the storm.

Sand whipped around him, stinging the exposed skin on his arms. He could head Varex yell out his name. Soon Quiggold’s voice joined in. Kix stayed rooted to the spot, trying to get his bearings. He was disoriented. The voices seemed to come from different directions. Suddenly another voice joined, Jesse screamed his name. Fives did as well. And Hardcase. And Captain Rex. General Skywalker. Kix’s heart rate skyrocketed and he squeezed his eyes shut tight.

“This isn’t real, this isn’t real. They’re not here. They’re gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.” He repeated to himself, a panic rising inside of him now. The voices of his long dead brothers and friends still called out to him, drowning out the voices of his current comrades.

Sayriel had reached the entrance to Bane’s tomb just as the storm passed over it, the holocron still clutches in her bleeding hand. The blood wasn’t dripping freely anymore, she’d bandaged it with a piece of cloth, but it had started to hurt. She was going to stay out until the storm passed when she felt a flurry of emotions. Mainly fear and extreme loss. She heard a voice carried to her by the Force. A frantic mantra repeating of “this isn’t real”. The fear almost felt childlike. Surely there wasn’t a child out there. Sayriel marched into the storm, she didn’t need her eyes to see. She followed the trail the Force made and saw the Meson Martinet’s medic, Kix standing as still as the statue he was next to. His eyes were shut tight, his hands fisted and relaxed repeatedly. She didn’t know what he was seeing, or hearing, but it terrified him. The voice inside instructed her to leave him and go back to Bane’s tomb, but she shoved that down deep. She pocketed the holocron and hurried to the man.

“Kix! Kix can you hear me?” Sayriel shouted above the storm. Her voice seemed to be blown away before it could reach him. He stayed stock still and was breathing heavily. She got closer to him, the sadness radiating from him was almost too much.

“Kix, I’m right here. Kix!” She yelled again. No reaction. _This probably isn’t a good idea, but…_ Sayriel reached up and took his face into her hands. His eyes snapped open and his hands formed an vice-like grip on her wrists. He sharply yanked her hands away, grabbed her upper arms, and pulled her towards him. He didn’t seem like he saw her. Until he did.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s just me.” Sayriel said, opening her hands and showing him empty palms in surrender. Kix loosened his grip on her wrists slightly and then seemed to fully snap out of it, dropping her completely. Sayriel didn’t realize it until her feet touched the stone pathway that the man had actually lifted her off the ground.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t…umm.” He fumbled for the right words and seemed confused.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s call us even.” Sayriel said quickly. “Come on, we need to find cover.” She added, grabbing Kix’s hand and pulling him towards Bane’s tomb. She felt for their destination with the Force, reaching out a hand while holding tight to Kix with the other. Soon her hand touched the carved stone of the tomb and she pushed Kix inside first and followed. As soon as she was back in the foyer of the tomb, she removed her scarf and shook the sand out of it, her clothing, and hair. Kix followed suit, removing his goggles as well and tossing them to the floor with his scarf, Sayriel piled hers with his. Kix looked at the woman and smirked, holding back a small laugh.

“What?” Sayriel asked, giving the man a look.

“You just, you have a very nice dirt outline on your face.” Kix gestured to her face, Sayriel frowned and rubbed her face with her hands.

“Gone?”

“Yes.” Kix lied.

“Yeah well, yours doesn’t look that nice.” Sayriel noted, walking back towards the entrance to the tomb where the storm raged on.

“Varex and the others took shelter in the tombs across the walkway.” Kix mentioned, Sayr nodding in reply. She sat down on the floor of the tomb and stretched her legs out, Kix stared at her.

“These storms could go on for hours, we might as well get comfortable.” Sayriel said, brushing some of her brown hair out of her face.

“Your hand, what happened?” Kix noted suddenly, kneeling down beside her. Sayriel looked at her hand and remembrance dawned on her. The blood ritual.

“Oh, nothing. It happened while I was getting the holocron.” Sayriel shrugged.

“Want me to look at it?” Kix offered, sitting down next to her. Sayriel shook her head. He shrugged.

“Well, maybe it won’t get infected. But if It does, you’ll know it. Nothing clears the sinuses quite like the smell of rotting flesh. It may have to be cut off at that point.” Kix reasoned, tilting his head back against the wall. He felt something land on his thigh and looked down to see Sayriel had offered her hand. He smirked and took his backpack off and got out a bottle of saline wash.

He took her hand, palm side up, and unwrapped the cloth. Part of the cloth stuck to the wound and pulled a bit but Sayriel showed no sign of pain. He set the cloth aside and used the saline to clean the cut out. It was a clean slice, whatever she got cut on was pretty sharp. The thing about Kix though, he was a military guy. He knew wounds. He could tell a accidental cut from a purposeful one. The location of the cut in the center of the hand, that was unlikely to be an accident. But he had no proof it wasn’t so he kept quiet. Once the dried blood and grim was cleaned away, he inspected it carefully. He checked the depth, making sure it hadn’t done serious damage to the nerves and muscles.

“Which hand do you hold your lightsaber in?” He asked, taking out some stitching supplies.

“Either.” Sayriel answered. “My Master made sure I was ambidextrous.” She added.

“Good, because this hand might be tender to use to grasp stuff with. At least until it heals better.” Kix nodded, preparing a curved surgical needle and some suturing thread. Sayriel watched as he began to expertly close the wound on her hand. He had a steady hand.

“You’re good at this. You’ve done this before?” Sayriel asked, trying to make small talk.

“Well I was a field medic in my, what was it you called it? Past life?” Kix reminded Sayr of their first meeting. She exhaled a little snort through her nose in amusement. Once the wound was sealed and bandaged, he released her hand and put the supplies away. He’d clean them later. They sat in silence for a few moments, the sound of soft hissing from the sand hitting the stone seemed to echo around the space.

“So you got the holocron huh?” Kix asked, breaking the quiet atmosphere. Sayriel nodded, taking the triangular object from her pocket and handed it to the man next to her. She watched as he turned it around in her fingers, noticing the blood on it.

“You got cut on this?” He asked, Sayriel shrugged.

“No, not that.”

“Well, so that just leaves one left then.” Kix stated the obvious and handed the holocron to Sayr who put it back in her pocket.

Silence rolled back in like a wave on a seashore. The storm raged on outside. It was dark as night now, a faint red glow was all that the sun could manage to do against the wall of never ending sand. Kix took a small light stick from his pack, activated it, and set it in front of them.

“Wanna play a game?” Sayriel asked suddenly, looking over at Kix who looked down at her.

“Like what?” He asked skeptically.

“You ask me something and I’ll tell the truth and vice versa.” Sayr replied innocently. Kix made a disbelieving sound.

“I’m serious!” Sayriel nudged Kix. “Or we could sit here in silence.” She added.

“Where did you really get that cut?” Kix asked. “Blood ritual to get the holocron.” Sayriel replied bluntly, her tone said that she didn’t really see that as a big deal.

“A what?!” Kix turned bodily to look at her, “seriously?!”

“Well that’s the rules of the game.” Kix stared at her blankly and sat back against the wall again.

“Where were you a field medic?” Sayriel wondered, changing the subject quickly. Kix was quiet and for a moment Sayr wondered if he was going to continue the game.

“The military.” Came his answer. It was vague.

“The First Order?” She prompted.

“No.” Sayriel bit her lip in irritation.

“The Rebellion then? The Empire?” She asked the questions in quick succession.

“No and certainly no.” 

“Well if you aren’t going to play then we can be done.” Sayriel snapped and folded her arms across her chest. There was silence and then he sighed.

“The Grand Army of the Republic.” Sayriel looked at him strangely.

“What about it?”

“That’s who was a medic for.” He clarified. Sayriel stared at him, blinked, and let out a laugh. Her laugh echoed off the walls. She opened her eyes to look at him, sure she was going to find him smirking. Instead he just looked at her, no hint of smirk on his face.

“Oh you’re serious?” Sayriel asked disbelievingly, smile fading.

“Well that is the rule.” Kix replied pointedly. Sayriel wasn’t sure how she could believe that. She had no way to check it. Kix seemed to sense her conundrum.

“Just use the Force and you’ll see I’m not lying.” He offered. Sayriel shook her head.

“That won’t work if you believe your lie.” Sayriel shook her head.

“Well how about this, I can give you something you can look up. Whether you so that legally or not, that’s up to you. But it will show you I’m telling the truth.” Kix said earnestly. Sayriel looked at him, he raise his eyebrows at her and waited patiently.

“Fine.” Sayriel relented.

They fell back into silence as the sandstorm raged on outside. Changes in the wind sometimes sent sand speeding into the tomb. Sayriel used the Force to bring the discarded scarves and goggles within reach. The storm had disrupted comm usage, they had been trying but unable to raise the others on any frequency. As Kix tinkered with his comm one more time, a faint signal crackled to life. Sayriel zoned in on Varex’s voice coming through faintly. He was chatting with someone else, Quiggold? Playing a guessing game.

“Varex! Can you hear me?” Sayriel spoke into Kix’s comm. There was a pause and a reply.

“Yeah! Barely but enough.”

“Good! Kix and I are taking cover in Lord Bane’s tomb!”

“Oh thank gods, she didn’t kill him Quiggold.” The reply was whispered and sounded relieved. Sayriel rolled her eyes.

“Good!!” Varex added, more loudly. “Squeaky was able to map the storm and commed Quiggold. This thing is massive, probably one of the huge planet-wide storms. It’s going to be a few more hours.” Varex sounded disappointed.

The signal was lost and Kix worked on trying to get it back for a few moments before giving up. Sayriel shut her eyes and leaned her head on the wall. She had been trying to ignore the pestering whispers of the Dark side going on in her head. They kept urging her to go back to the sarcophagus and open it, to give more blood, to meditate. Her discomfort must’ve shown on her face, because Kix noticed.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. Sayriel’s reply was quick and short.

“Nothing. Headache.”

“I have some pain pills.” He offered, Sayriel squeezed her eyes shut tighter and furrowed her brow. “That won’t help this pain.” She managed. Now the voice strongly urged her to kill her companions and leave. Repeating that they were all holding her back.

“I have to leave.” Sayriel said suddenly, jumping to her feet, hands clenching and relaxing repeatedly.

“Nope. It’s storming out remember.” Kix observed bluntly. Sayriel shot him an irritated look.

“Look, I’ll sedate you if I have-“ he started.

“YES! That’s perfect!!” Sayriel exclaimed, kneeling next to him.

“Um, what?” Kix asked, clearly he was unprepared for Sayriel’s positive reaction.

“A sedative! That should help my headache.” The woman explained.

“Well I would have to have Tranquest to sedate you officially, since the Force and all.” Kix shrugged, “I don’t have access to any of that. Truthfully I was bluffing earlier.”

“Well, so you have sleeping pills?” Sayriel asked, not bothering to hide her disappointment.

Kix handed her two small green pills and his canteen, Sayriel took them immediately and settled back down next to the medic.

“Sleeping pills often help me with my nightmares. Hopefully these will help you with yours.” He said quietly, Sayriel had a feeling he knew she didn’t mean an actual headache.

“Well, take some and we’ll both get good sleep.” Sayriel nudged him, she could feel her muscles start to relax.

“Those were my last two.” Kix shrugged, Sayriel started to apologize but he stopped her, “it’s fine, I’ll fall asleep eventually.”

Sayriel scooted away from the wall enough to lay down, using her arm as a pillow. The floor wasn’t even close to comfortable, but it would have to do. The sleeping pills soon took effect and her eyelids drooped closed. Kix stayed away for a bit longer, the eerie sound of the wind on the corners of the tomb was unnerving. He eventually laid down next to Sayriel, his back to hers and shut his eyes tightly. He knew exactly when his nightmares would start. He knew in five minutes, he would be back at one of the many battles he experienced during his Clone Wars days. 

As expected, the dream started 5 minutes after he fell asleep. Which planet would he find himself on this evening?  
Kix shifted his backpack as he trudged along with the rest of the men. He had situated himself among those that had been wounded in the previous fight. They had still be able to walk, but he liked to be close in case something happened. Fives and Rex were in front, Fives had been asking Rex if he could ask the General if they could take a break. They had been keeping a quick pace for over twelve hours and it was starting to show. They didn’t need to be exhausted if they had to fight again, that would end in death for so many troopers. He watched as the Captain asked the General, who was shrouded in darkness at the moment. He saw Rex’s shoulders drop a minuscule amount. Kix knew the request had been denied.  
Suddenly the scenery changed. There were explosions going off all around him, he could hear all sorts of commands being screamed through the speakers in his helmet. He tried to filter it out when heard the first scream. He didn’t know who it was, but he searched around for them. Finally, he spotted them just a few feet away. He made to run, but his feet stayed rooted to the ground. He struggled against some invisible force until he lost his balance and fell to the ground. His hands found a root and he pulled with all this strength to no avail. The man reached out for him, his features concealed in bright white armor. Kix pulled harder against what was holding him back.  
__

_“Help me, please.”_ The man pleaded. Kix tried to speak, but nothing came out. In a blink, the man was gone and the force holding Kix released him. Kix scrambled to his feet, breathing hard. The filter in his helmet felt like it was partially blocked. He used his hand to try to clear the outside portion, but his fingers wouldn’t work properly.

Another scream, this time it sounded like it was right by his ear, his body jolting. He turned towards the sound, but had to do so bodily as his neck wouldn’t turn his head. He managed a few steps towards the injured trooper, his legs had been blown off, the ends smoldering and the smell of burnt flesh wafted into Kix’s nose. The nightmare had decided to deprive Kix of his cover, his mask. He knew he couldn’t show fear and doubt to the wounded man, he would have to make sure to hide it. Kix tried to get his backpack off to help the wounded man, he had no idea if he’d be able to get evac for him. Kix knelt down, still struggling to get his elbow through the backpack strap. The man was barely coherent and screamed loudly whenever Kix tried to calm him. Suddenly the man was dragged away into the darkness by some unseen force. He heard a laugh, one that was deep and gleeful. Pong Krell. Kix’s heart sunk as the scenery of Umbara became clear. Krell, the man didn’t deserve the title of General, walked out of the foliage, his sabers extinguished. Kix realized the man’s legs hadn’t been blown off after all.  
Krell ignited one of his double bladed sabers and held it at Kix’s un-helmeted face. He could feel the searing heat from the blade, the light created horrific shadows on Krell’s face. Kix tried to stand up, to move back, but it was impossible. Krell held him tightly with the Force. 

Sayriel frowned as she felt a kick again. It was probably the fourth one yet. Maybe he was trying to wake her up?

“Look, if you’re trying to get my attention, there are more polite-“ she began, propped herself up on her elbows and turning around to look at him.

She fell silent when she realized he was still asleep, his foot kicked back at her again. She sat up a bit straighter and leaned over him gently, careful not to touch him. His face showed what he was dreaming about, fear and sadness. A place like this, the tomb of a long dead Sith Lord, would amplify such feelings. Whatever he was dreaming out would be worse than it usually was. She bit her lip slightly, not sure exactly how to help him. She knew better than to try to wake him, not wanting to repeat what had happened earlier. His strength had taken her by surprise.  
An idea hit her, one that she wasn’t sure would work. Using one arm to lean on, she slowly reached over him with her other arm. She gently caressed his forehead, just barely touching it with her finger tips. She used the Force to sooth his mind, to try to put whatever storm was raging in there to rest.  
His facial expression started to change and, not wanting to have him catch her, Sayr quickly laid back down and rolled over to her previous position. She shut her eyes and pretended to still be fast asleep. 

Krell had been toying with him. Kix had been trying to reach bodies of wounded men, men who were calling out to him by name, only to have Krell use the Force to snatch them away. The men would be gone, but their screams of agony would remain, echoing all around him. Kix was starting to lose it when a feeling of calm came over him. Krell had been approaching him again, igniting his double bladed sabers, readying the death blow…when he disappeared. His image seemed to blow away in the wind and he was gone, along with the screams.  
Kix awoke with a start, sitting straight up. He was breathing heavily and sweating, but he wasn’t on Umbara. Krell was gone. His nightmares had never ended that quickly, they had always gone from the time he went to sleep until the time his internal clock woke him up. He turned and looked down at the woman beside him. She seemed to still be sleeping, but he wasn’t sure. He started to wake her, but left his arm hovering over her shoulder. If she was indeed still asleep, he didn’t want to wake her. He would ask her later, if she did anything. He wasn’t sure if he liked her messing with his head, not after all he had been through. He leaned back against the wall and was resolved to not sleep again until he could ensure a nightmare-less slumber. 

Kix would never have admitted it to his brothers or to the Jedi Generals he worked with, but after Umbara Kix found himself fearful of Force users. He knew that Pong Krell hadn’t been an actual Jedi, at least not by the time he commanded them on Umbara. But just the sight of green and blue sabers cutting down his brothers was enough to make him uneasy. Those were colors he had come to associate with trust and safety, and that had all been destroyed during a single mission. Whenever he saw those saber colors after, he would try hard not to flinch. He had seen what Force users had been capable of before Krell, and he had always been in awe of such abilities. But after Umbara, and seeing the Force used against his brothers and himself, he had felt helpless. If the Jedi couldn’t sense what Krell was, if General Anakin Skywalker hadn’t sensed it, then how was he supposed to trust the Jedi he was born to serve?  


He looked back down at the woman snoozing beside him, he hadn’t seen her fight using the Force entirely. He hadn’t seen what her lightsaber color was either. But something inside him told him to be careful, cautious, around her. She didn’t like being called a Jedi, but she didn’t seem to behave like Sith he knew about. But she had just done a blood ritual for a Sith holocron and had shrugged it off like it was nothing. Kix checked his chronometer, it was late in the evening. The storm had been going on for so long he had almost gotten used to the noise. He noticed Sayriel roll over, her brow furrowed slightly. The sleeping pills had at least worked for her partially. Slight changes in her facial expression told him she was dreaming about something as well. What could a Force user have to dream about that angered and frightened her?


	13. The Storm Part 2

Sayriel’s nightmares were always vivid. Sights, sounds, and smells were realistic. This one was no different. She was fighting a man wearing light brown robes. He had some durasteel armor on vital areas of the body, but it was sparse in other places. The man was good, talented. Sayriel could feel the heat from his lightsaber as it swung at her face. She blocked it with her own, red saber. Her body moved on its own accord, she was just a spectator. She had no control over her movements, she realized this when she tried to stop herself from making attempts to kill her opponent. She used the Force to grab the man, the Jedi, and pulled him towards her. He dragged his feet on the ground and tried to pull back against her, but she was too strong. When he was within range, he swiped his lightsaber at her outstretched arm. She pulled her limb back just in time and swung her own blade out, slicing the man across his chest. The smell of burnt flesh lingered in her nostrils, the man looked surprised and then dropped to the ground. Sayriel finished him off by stabbing one of her blood-red blades into his back.  


“Well done my child.” A voice sounded behind her, he was so close to her. She turned to face him and saw Darth Bane standing behind her. Images of battle and death reflected in his shiny armor, Sayriel saw her own reflection in it. She turned again and surveyed her surroundings. It was a raging battle, Sith versus Jedi, an old war. Red blades clashing with blue and green blades. She wasn’t sure which battle this was, but she didn’t care. She wanted out. But her body pressed onward, charging another green blade moving to strike down Darth Bane. Just as her blade removed the Jedi’s head from his shoulders, she woke up with a scream.  


Kix, startled, tried to calm the woman down but she was in full panic mode. He had seen this before, from his brothers. It would take a her a moment to realize she was safe, or rather mostly safe. As safe as one could be in a Sith Lord’s tomb on a Sith planet. He took her by the shoulders and held her gently as she pushed against him. He wondered if she was even fully awake, since she seemed to not see him, even though her eyes were open.  


Sayriel’s vision cleared, Kix’s form replacing the Jedi that had been trying to kill her. Impulsively she wrapped her arms around the man, who wasn’t completely prepared for that reaction. She held onto him as her breathing slowed and returned to normal.  


“It’s okay, you’re okay. You’re safe, it was just a nightmare. It’s okay.” Kix soothed the Force-user, running his hand up and down her back softly. It was just occurring to him that this was the first time he had ever held a Force-user like this, he had never had the opportunity to comfort them before. He let go only when she did, Sayriel pulling away and not looking him in the eye.  


“I’m sorry…that, I’m not usually like that.” She said weakly, embarrassed.  


“It’s okay, it’s this place I think.” Kix said, giving the woman a small smile. She nodded in agreement and leaned back against the wall. Light shifted inside the tomb and it drew their attention to the door. It was sunny outside. The storm had passed! Sayriel hastened to her feet, followed by Kix, and went to the door to the tomb. They peered outside and was met with lots of sand, Sayriel using the Force to clear a pathway for them to leave the tomb. They were met by the others digging themselves out of their hiding places, shaking sand from limbs and clothing. Sayriel reunited with her crew and Kix with his, each inquiring after the condition of their comrades.  


“This trip wasn’t a total waste.” Sayriel noted as she cleared a path through the sand as she lead the pirate crews back to the ships. She took the Sith Holocron out of her pocket and tossed it back to Varex. She wanted to rid herself of it for a while, hoping that putting some space between it and her would help ease her feelings of irritation.  


“Now we only have one to go.” Varex said, inspecting the triangular holocron.  


“I wonder why the Sith made their holocrons look like triangles?” Reveth wondered out loud.  


“Probably to separate them from the Jedi Holocrons.” Varex answered, catch the holocron as Reveth took it back. He offered it back to Sayriel, who waved it away. He shrugged and pocketed the artifact. Sayriel and Kix hadn’t mentioned what happened in the tomb or how she had acquired the holocron, and unless asked they had decided it would remain between them. Varex hadn’t failed to notice Sayriel’s cut hand, and had thanked Kix for patching his friend up.  


The ships soon loomed into view, Squeaky was out with a shovel trying to dig the Meson Martinet out of the sand. Sayriel made his life easier by clearing both ships with the Force. The landing ramps to both ships lowered, sand sliding out of crevices.  


“It’s going to take ages to get the sand out of the ship.” Quiggold lamented, Varex and Ithano nodding in agreement.  


“Where to next? Another Sith planet?” Varex asked, looking over at Sayriel. She had been walking up The Grand Orbiter’s ramp, she needed to try to meditate.  


“Mustafar.” She answered shortly, not looking back at them. She had no idea why that planet came into her thoughts. She didn’t want to go there. Anywhere else would be nice, especially after this planet. But she knew they would find another holocron there. As soon as the door to her quarters shut behind her, she fell back against it and slid down to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and placed her head down on top of them. She heard the ramp to the ship close and a few moments after, the vessel vibrated to life. She could feel the take off and the turbulent travel through the atmosphere. She kept her head down the whole time, until she felt that familiar break between the atmosphere of a planet and space.  


With a sigh, Sayr raised her head and straightened her legs in front of her. She felt the tension slowly ease from her body, her muscles relaxing. She stood up and slowly walked to her bunk, allowing her form to just drop down onto the mattress. She placed her head on her pillow and tried to get comfortable.  


“Finally, I’m alone.” She muttered to the empty room.  


  
_You’re never alone._ The voice replied.  



End file.
